Son of a Beast
by Fae 206
Summary: (Based on 1991 movie). Adam is now thirty-four and king. Learning from the flaws of his past and with Belle as his wife, life seems to be going better for both himself and everyone around him. That is until the enchantress appears again to further the 'family-curse'. How will Adam and Belle handle their oldest son receiving the 'Beast' treatment and will past mistakes repeat?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Three for this chapter

**AN1: **I am using certain data from the 2017 movie (Cogsworth's first name) but it is based on the 1991 movie

**AN2: **I am not trying to be historically accurate, there will be no French Revolution

**AN3: **There will be Adam/Belle flashbacks in future chapters

**Son of A Beast**

**Chapter One**

It had been thirteen years since the curse had been broken. Tonight it would actually be the thirteenth anniversary and it seemed unnatural. Each year on this day, Adam would take some time to reflect. His adolescent years had become painful memories but they had become the most important. How could he take that anger and use it as the motivating drive behind diplomacy? How could he turn his torture and use it to show others empathy and honesty. He was a snotty nosed brat who nobody paid much attention to. His parents, the king and queen, had been too busy in Paris to give him the kind of parenting he needed. He had felt forced to establish his independence and when he had made an error in judgement as a boy of eleven years of age, he had been cursed into becoming a monster.

Even now, he never used fur when he was wearing his royal clothes. The feeling of it made him shiver as if it were going to suddenly start covering his entire body and become part of him again. Adam flinched as he heard the rain splatter upon the window. It was a different castle, he was a different person. He wasn't just a prince anymore, he was the king and he had proven his worth when it came to being king. He would soon be entering into the seventh year of his reign. He had an amazing wife who loved helping others and was the smartest and most well-read person Adam had ever encountered as well as three children.

He and Belle had wanted to raise their children into caring and yet intelligent people. Adam felt that he was accomplishing this through their private tutoring lessons and an access to books, globes, telescopes. His family was somewhere he would spare no expense. Since the economy had picked up again there was more money to be spent and Adam cared about those who he loved and who loved him. Even though his status had been elevated, he gave the jobs to the ones who had known him during the period of his transformation, his family, they were more of a family than servants.

Adam shuddered as there was thunder heard above and he closed his eyes trying to calm himself. There was work that needed to be done tonight, work that couldn't be put off for tomorrow. He just had to remember that the previous twelve years nothing had happened. It was his birthday and yet he tried to forget about that. The kingdom might remember but he didn't want to ever celebrate a birthday again. It had been his own selfishness that had doomed him and Belle's selflessness which had saved him and set an example for him to copy.

"Your Majesty, might I suggest that you take a short break," Adam heard a familiar voice from behind him and he took a short breath out.

"Adam, please, just Adam," he replied, "You never have to address me in such formal terms, Henri," he said as he turned to face Cogsworth, the former clock. He bowed his head nervously as he could hear the storm clouds again. "It wasn't raining last year," he flinched again and Cogsworth studied him.

"No, it was fairly clear weather," Cogsworth replied and Adam nodded. Something didn't feel right about this. Something inside of him was telling him that something was wrong. There was a few bolts of lightning and Adam could see someone approaching the entrance of the front gate. "Your M-Adam? What are you doing?"

Adam turned around hastily and rushed out of the doorway, "Henri," he said quickly, his eyes widening as he tried to formulate a plan. "Send word that nobody but me is to open the front door," he said flying across the floor with the weight and speed of a beast. He had to do something. There was no way that this was happening again.

Rushing down the hallway, Adam stopped as he heard the sound of the door being opened by somebody. He wasn't quick enough to do it. As he collected himself and went to see who had opened the door he stopped as an icy cold shock went through him, making him feel weak and empty.

On one side of the door was someone who haunted Adam each day of his life, a beggar woman dressed in a green coat with a haggard appearance and on the other side, his eleven year old son, Riva. Riva looked a lot like his mother and was getting to be as smart as her as well. He was great at chess, loved reading and playing the piano, and had started inventing alongside Maurice. He had his hair though. He was the oldest of their three children, Bastien was six, and Marie was four. Bastien and even Marie looked more like him but with some of Belle's features, Riva however looked just like his mother.

Adam rushed forward, his eyes widened and he stood in front of Riva who stared at him shocked.

"Take whatever you want," Adam said with wide eyes. "Take it all. You want somewhere to stay for the night, then come in, you can even take _my _own bed," he said and Riva watched him. He had never seen his father act like this before. The thirty-four year old looked absolutely desperate. The hag pushed him to the side with just a sweep of her hand before turning to Riva who was looking horrified between his father who appeared to be fighting against some curse which had frozen him and the woman in front of him.

Adam looked up at his son, he felt something akin to ropes wrapped tightly around him, holding him down. He still had to try to fight against them. Riva didn't know how dangerous this woman was. she had Wanted to help him? Adam had often thought about that. The beautiful enchantress had cursed an eleven year old to remain a beast. His parents had abandoned him, told him that he was a demon and deserved to go to hell. He couldn't even leave the walls of the castle. He felt as if his jaw was frozen as well and he tried to fight against it.

"What are you doing to my father!?" Riva asked as he looked at the witch. He felt a chill in his bones as he looked between the woman and his father. Something was wrong, something felt wrong. "Let him go,"

Adam reached out a hand wanting to keep his son from saying these things, "Riva d-d-d-on't" he struggled before the hag pushed him against the wall again and Adam yelled with pain.

"Papa!?" the prince asked in alarm before turning to face the witch.

"I only come here to ask for shelter for the night," the woman said and Adam struggled to get up, his heart stopped as he heard the next words. "I offer you this single rose as payment."

"Payment!?" Riva coughed in disbelief, "I wouldn't let you in for a dozen red roses after what you're doing to my father." Adam tried to reach out to stop him. The truth was that they hadn't told any of their children the story of how they had first met or that he had been turned into a beast in the past. Riva hadn't needed to hear that but thirteen years later, on Adam's own birthday, she had appeared.

"You are turning me away even after a thing of such beauty has been offered," the witch said as she gestured to the rose she was holding.

"Beauty!?" Riva coughed, "You are torturing my papa, you are nothing but an ugly troll, get out of this castle right now," he said and Adam could almost see himself in his son's place but Riva was a much better person than he had ever been.

"You mustn't be fooled by appearances for true beauty is found on the inside," the hag told him and Riva paused, his mouth opened in disbelief.

"The outside doesn't matter," Riva told her confused and gestured to Adam, seeing the fear on his father's face. "You are ugly because you are doing this to m-"

Adam knew he needed to end this quickly. An enchantress was just like a human, right? They could be injured. Taking a deep breath in and dragging himself in agony, Adam grabbed to a sword from a suit of armor and lunged at her. He froze as he saw a white light and heard the sound of something breaking and then glitter. Adam stopped. She had fled, right? That's what had happened.

"You have only killed me once but for committing that unspeakable crime you will live with your own for the rest of your pathetic life." The enchantress's voice could be heard and Adam felt a very sharp shock throughout his body. He was pushed into the ground as if magnets had been slid underneath his skin. He looked to his arm which was growing bigger, his hand morphing into a paw. He tried to breathe through the agonizing pain and then felt a hand to his back.

"Papa," Riva said as he looked in complete shock and panic to see what was happening. "Papa, I'm right here. You'll be okay. Do you understand, Papa, you'll be okay?" Adam looked up at his son. Riva was still human, he was okay, he would be okay. Nothing else was important after that.

**End of Chapter One**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are very much appreciated**

**Also, I'm writing this chapter at a Disneyland hotel, how cool is that**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I decided to change the plot a little (description will show that). Thank you for choosing to read it.**

**Chapter Two**

"_I have said that it's not very traditional for the father of the child, especially when the father is a prince, to be in the delivery room with the mother," the midwife said and Adam looked at her firmly. He wasn't going to leave Belle when she had never left him. Even after he had terrified her and she had run away, she hadn't just left him behind to die in the snow. Before the curse was broken and he almost died in the mob fight, she had been there for him and in every moment since then._

"_Let's say that a lot of the things which Belle and I do are not traditional," Adam told her before pressing the warm cloth to Belle's forehead as she started to shake. The doctor studied the two of them and Adam knelt down so he could be face to face with Belle. "Are you all right, my love?"_

"_I'm okay," Belle said, "Just follow what the midwife tells you except -"_

"_In that case I insist that you -" the midwife said quickly and Belle raised her voice._

"_Leave. I don't want you to leave," she said and Adam kissed her forehead. He couldn't leave Belle after that even if they tried to physically force him out. Soon Belle moved in a way that seemed to show pain and Adam felt himself tense a little more. _

"_It looks like the baby is on their way, Your Highness if you would keep hold of the madame's hand," he said and Adam nodded before squeezing Belle's in a supportive manner. Soon he could see Belle's pain and he continued to hold her hand, breathing in time with the doctors to help her. After what felt like forever, the task was done and Adam looked up at the small boy that the midwife was holding. _

_He was so gorgeous and Adam was surprised that something so beautiful had come from him. __Belle__ he could understand, but himself?_

"_How is he?" Belle asked and the doctor checked him over before wrapping him up and handed him out for Adam to hold. The prince was nervous as he took his son, his first-born child into his arms. He looked at the baby and laughed weakly. The baby blinked up at him with Belle's gorgeous eyes._

"_He's perfect," Adam said as he smiled back at his son. How could he be given the gift of such a gorgeous child, of such a remarkable wife, of a life that he may never have had were it not for that transformation. _

Vvxxvv

Vvxxvv

Riva felt himself panic. This was a lot for an eleven-year-old to take in. He gently moved his father's head, a beast's head large and heavier, onto his knees. He nervously put his hand underneath the fur and felt his papa's pulse. He saw his father's chest rise and fall underneath the shreds of cloth that used to be his shirt. He heard his father cough harshly and then open his blue eyes and look at him. "Papa?" Riva asked nervously.

"I'm still me," Adam told his son as he looked up at him feeling very weak. He pulled back but as he tried to do so, he felt a sharp pain through his body and his face showed it. "You're okay? She didn't hur-"

"I'm okay," Riva said quickly before pulling his father back to his lap. "Papa," he whispered before bowing his head. Would people believe that this was his father? Would he need to hide him to keep him safe? Would someone consider him a monster and make an attempt on his life? "Papa, please. You don't understand," he said as Adam sighed, he understood only too well, "your body has changed. You need help," he struggled to understand. "We need to hide you somewhe-"

"Riva?" Belle asked before entering the room which they were in and her eyes widened as she took in Adam's appearance. It had been thirteen years since she had seen him like this. What had happened? "Adam!" she yelled as she rushed forward towards him.

"Mama, this is pa-" he paused, she had recognized him even without an explanation. It would seem that anyone would look at his father now and believe that he was just a monster. He eyed her carefully as Belle sat, transferring Adam to herself. "How did yo-"

"This happened before," Belle tried to tell her son, "When Adam was your age he was cursed, he spent ten years in this form until we fell in love which broke the curse," Belle gently let her fingers brush through Adam's fur in an attempt to comfort him. "Riva, what happened?"

"She came back," Adam coughed and Belle gently placed her hand over his larger mouth and turned to their son.

"There was an old woman who offered me a rose for a place to stay. I refused because she had already hurt Papa by that time. I didn't want to let her in after she put Papa in so much pain. She said it was because of her appearance but I didn't care about that at all. I didn't care what she looked like. I wasn't going to let anyone in capable of hurting Papa so much. She got angry and I think she was about to attack me but Papa grabbed a sword and there was a white light and his body changed to this form," Riva was able to explain. "I'm so sorry, Papa" Riva whispered guiltily.

Adam shook his head, "Don't be. I don't blame you at all," he struggled and Belle tried to hold him down as she felt Adam make an attempt to get up. Riva stood up quickly. He knew he was young but he had to do something to help his father.

"Honey, go and get Cogsworth, please?" Belle requested and Riva nodded. He took another look at his papa, feeling guilty that this had happened to him and ran up the stairs to get help. Belle wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?" she asked as she gently let her fingers go through the fur on his cheek.

"If it didn't happen to me, it would have happened to Riva," Adam told her and Belle held him close, she saw him make an attempt to sit and he reached behind him feeling a pressure where his tail was. Belle hesitated and then let her hand move down to his rear, massaging the part where it was sore.

"What do we tell the citizens?" Belle asked and Adam looked at her nervously. If they told them the truth then it might lead to a revolution, it would at least lead to public unease and a lack of trust towards the royal family.

"Inform them that I am dead, we can think of some reason as to why that was said if I am able to change back," Adam told her as he looked at his paws sadly. "Get Henri to become regent so that Riva can become king."

"King?" Riva asked as he ran back with the head of staff. "I can't be king, I'm a kid," he struggled and Adam looked at him.

"Belle married into royalty, she can't be queen. I am unable to lead a country in the state that I am now but I will help you behind the scenes as much as I can." Riva looked between his parents and saw Belle nod in agreement. "You will have to become the face for this country but I will still be able to make the decisions for you, to guide you in the right direction."

"I'm eleven," Riva told him and Adam turned to Cogsworth.

"Will you become the acting regent for him until I am able to break this curse?" he asked. Everyone knew that this was the truth. A country couldn't be led by Adam when he was in this form. Riva was the heir to the throne and the only choice they had.

"I'd rather be a beast than a king," Riva said and Belle and Cogsworth stated at him in shock. Adam looked down, struggling to breathe as well as he normally did.

"You don't understand what you're saying just yet and that's okay. You'll understand soon enough," he said sadly and Cogsworth shook his head.

"Let's get you to bed, Adam," he said as he held most of his weight as he stood up. Belle came to the other side, taking the remaining weight.

"Riva, will you go into the library?" Belle requested, "Your father needs to rest but we need to discuss some important details."

Riva nodded slowly and sat, still in shock at the events which he had just witnessed. He knew that he needed to try to save his father and that his father would never be able to rule a kingdom like that, but he didn't know if he could do even a fraction of the good his father had done for the country. He bowed his head. "I'm not ready, Papa," he said before feeling something on his shirt. A brown fur. He shivered. Hopefully his Papa was okay.

Riva saw a glimmer of light and raised his head.

"You said that you are not ready to be king but how about to continue your family legacy?" a voice asked and Riva turned. What were they saying?

Ivivivi

Ivivivi

Belle gently sponged Adam's forehead feeling his temperature rise behind his horn, she very gently placed her hand behind his horn, gently letting her thumbs push back his fur. She nodded to Cogsworth as he turned to leave. He had been a great friend to both of them. "Adam," Belle said as she saw him flinch under her touch, "Tell me if there was another way that you could have saved him."

"So if there wasn't," Adam coughed painfully, "You wouldn't be comfort-"

"I just want to get the facts, nothing more," Belle told him before grabbing another pillow for his much larger head. She fluffed it up before slipping it under him. She snuggled closer to him, holding onto him lovingly and knowing that he would continue to protect her just as he had their son. She didn't want to remind him that today was his birthday, it was hard enough for him already.

"There was no other choice. It was him or me," Adam told her. "We'll be okay," Adam tried his best to reassure her. "I'll be okay."

Belle nodded before feeling that Adam's body was getting even warmer, she sat up in alarm before seeing his fur starting to glow and he groaned in pain as the beast type body turned into his own. Belle watched this in wonder before her heart started pounding harder. Adam had just said that it was either him or Riva who was having to endure this torture and it had just lifted from Adam.

"Riva!" Adam yelled as he jumped to his feet and ran to the library, Belle was quick to follow after him. Adam stared in horror as he saw what he had always pictured his son would look like in this type of animal form. He stood there with wide eyes as he took in the boy in front of him….the smaller beast in front of him. "How?" he asked with a panicked expression as he turned to look around him. "No. No. No, there has to be something, some way of breaking the….what happened?"

"Riva?" Belle asked before sinking down to her knees in front of the smaller beast. She looked up and on the wall was a new tapestry, some part of the curse. It showed a picture of what Riva would look like in about ten years. Belle pulled her son into her arms as Adam stared at the picture feeling a painful wash of nostalgia.

This couldn't be happening. This was exactly what had happened to him. He had received two mirrors at that time, a mirror of what he could one day look like and the enchanted mirror that could show him the outside world.

Adam pushed his forehead to the wall. Belle still had her arms protectively around their son. He took a slow breath and turned. "First of all we need to draw up a security plan until we can figure out how to fix this. Secondly, we make sure to get anything that you need," he said as he faced his son with the guilt still in his chest, "I can start with a list of what I remember," he turned to Cogsworth who had entered. "You remember what I required when…"

"There was very little that a wooden clock could do," Cogsworth replied and Adam looked at him sadly.

"I understand," he said, "and I apologize for that. I can't even express the guilt that I've been feeling for all of the years following." Adam turned to Belle. "Third, we have to make sure how to handle this as a family. I'm not going to be the cold-hearted father that I had. We stay together."

"Of course we'll stay together," Belle told him. She turned to Riva, moving some of the torn pieces of his shirt as she pressed a loving hand to his heart. "We love you, Riva. This doesn't change that."

"It would never change that," Adam agreed as he turned back to his son sadly. He only wished he could have saved his own son.

Ixixixix

Xixixixix

_He couldn't eat anymore and any time he did, the food just slid from his paw, the juice or fat seeping into his fur. He couldn't lift a fork and his world seemed a lot scarier. He had been trying to find the way out of this curse for weeks but there was no help to be found. All of the servants had been forced into the curse, they had become teapots and candlesticks and all sorts of other things. He felt trapped. What kind of enchantress did this to someone?_

_Adam heard the doors to the castle open and he froze in fear. Someone was here? He quickly moved to the side and his heart beat painfully in his chest. His parents were there? They would get revenge for him. They had to know how to make it so that he wouldn't be this hideous creature any longer. _

"_Mother?" Adam said nervously as he went to see his parents. He shivered. "Mother?" he asked and the queen screamed as she turned to him. _

"_What is that hideous thing!" she said in fear and Adam felt more panic than he ever had. _

"_It's a monster," the king said before gesturing for one of the servants with him to bring a gun. Adam's eyes widened as he felt so much fear in his heart. _

"_I'm Adam" he said before he saw the king and queen share glances. "I'm your son. Somebody turned me into this monster."_

"_It is his voice," the queen said and the king took the gun staring at Adam unsure what to do with him. _

"_Even so," he said and Adam felt himself hyperventilating. He wasn't going to die because he was shot by his own father, was he!? _

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to **gisela19wwe** for your review on Chapter One**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_The eleven year old beast had snuck into the kitchens hoping not to wake anyone. The curse hadn't only affected him but everybody in this castle including the architecture __of__ the castle. This was all his fault. His appearance was his own fault. He just needed to either decide to die from starvation or to find something to eat. _

_There had to be something. Adam felt his nose detect something in a way that he had never felt before. Meat. There was raw meat somewhere. He followed the strong smell before seeing a piece of lamb. He quickly moved towards it, attempting to grab it with his paw but because it was cold and raw, it kept sliding from his grip. He tried using his claws but struggled._

_Lowering his head, he decided that he needed to eat as the animal they had turned him into. The cold meat felt delicious on his longer teeth and he savored the blood. Was that all he was now, a blood sucking monster? He hated the feeling of despair that sank through him but he still devoured the lamb. _

_If he had to eat as a beast, he might as well enjoy it. _

Xxxxx

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Adam raised his head as he saw the loyal and maternal Mrs. Potts bring Riva a bowl of warm soup and a wide cup of tea. He smiled sadly to her. "Thank you," he whispered with a nod of his head and she handed him a cup of tea too. Feeling the cup in his hands gave him a sense of the warmth underneath the fur. He should be in that position, not Riva.

"Don't lose hope," Mrs. Potts whispered to him as she gently put her hand to Adam's cheek. "It turned out all right in the end for you."

Adam sighed, "I knew at that time what the issue was. I _knew_ how to break the curse but it was putting the steps into action. Until a short time ago, _I_ was the one with the fur," he said before seeing Riva struggle to eat with the spoon. He brought his furry face to the bowl and lapped it up before Mrs. Potts nudged Adam who was moving anyway.

"I can't…" Riva said and Adam sat down opposite him.

"Yes, you can," Adam told him with confidence in his voice. He grabbed the cup with both of his hands, bringing it to his mouth and drinking without using the handle. "You just have to think more…creatively…your mother taught me that," he said and Riva eyed him cautiously.

The prince followed his father's instructions and felt that the fur helped with holding the bowl, it didn't feel as hot as with a human hand. Bringing the bowl to his jaw, Riva managed to tilt it just enough so that it could slide down his throat. Adam felt ashamed that he was human whilst Riva had taken on the curse himself. _He_ was supposed to be protecting his children.

Riva eyed Adam cautiously seeing the disappointment on his face and pulled back. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly using his furry wrist to dab at his mouth. Adam reached out to take his son's paw.

"You don't need to apologize and…it would be easier for you if you don't use your body as a towel, fur matts very easily and when it does, it tends to tangle. Numerous times I've ended up with a furball," Adam tried to laugh but Riva bowed his head in shame. "I'm the one who is supposed to be in that form, not you," Adam tried to tell him and Riva looked down and shook his head.

"I'm not ready to rule or appear as the king just yet," he said and Adam sighed, he had mentioned making Cogsworth regent for that very reason. Now he wished he hadn't said anything.

"You should trust that I know what's best for you," Adam said as he took a deep breath in, he shook his head. He didn't want to add salt to the wound. "As for how things are right now, I definitely don't want you to leave the castle just yet. I don't think we can let other people see you as well. Belle has agreed to tutor you privately. Of course, any of the long term staff can help you and I'm going to make sure that you are kept safe and provided for just as I always have tried to. Riva, thank you for trying to protect me but I wish you had let me take on the curse again."

Riva looked down, the words not starting to make sense. "So you don't love me?" he asked and Adam stared at him in shock.

"Make no mistake that I love you. You are my son. Even though I feel that you resemble the past me a bit too closely right now, you _are_ my son. Beauty comes from within. I learned that through your mother. So, if you want to get angry then be angry. If you want to rip the wallpaper, go ahead. Your mother and I will still love you with all of our hearts."

Adam looked up to where Belle was entering, she walked over to Riva and wrapped her arms around him lovingly. She looked down at the food and smiled, kissing her son's furry forehead. She turned to Adam with a nod. She wasn't blaming anyone despite how sad the situation made her feel.

"How are you feeling, darling?" she asked Riva who looked between his parents. Belle gently pushed back his fur, making it even the way that a mother does with their son's hair. She picked up Riva's wrist where she could see the food matting with the fur. She grabbed a serviette and went to put some water on it so that she could help him with the sticky patch that was starting to spike a little. "I'm sorry, darling," she whispered as she managed to clean it enough so that it wouldn't get too scratchy or irritating for him. "There, all better."

"I feel sleepy," Riva admitted and Adam nodded.

"Do you think that your bed will be okay for right now? We can have one custom made for you in just a few days if you require it," Adam tried to reassure Riva who stared at him confused.

"Why would I need one custom made?" he asked and Adam hesitated.

"Just let us know," he told his son before sighing. Belle grabbed to Adam's hand knowing how guilty he felt seeing his son in this manner. This would be a discussion for later on.

Xxxxx

xxxxx

Belle placed a bookmark in her book before setting it down on one of the shelves of the small bookcase in the bedroom. Unlike Gaston, Adam encouraged anything that she or their children were passionate in. Gaston had a set idea of what the world was, he had grown up wealthy and well-fed and yet he believed what he wanted in the world was what was best. Despite having more wealth, Adam had gone through a nightmarish adolescence and suffered agonies and still he was curious about the world, curious about what made those around him happy, he liked to watch them and observe them.

She saw how messy Adam's hair was getting as he dragged his fingers through it once more. "Adam," she whispered softly and he looked at her before bowing his head and pushed his palm on the wall, the sound echoing without him meaning it to. "This was Riva's choice. As much as I hate it, this was the decision he made and we don't have to like it but we need to channel our energies into helping him. Maybe we should tell my Papa."

"Your father was never comfortable with even discussions of that form but I imprisoned him so why should I expect anything else," he said and Belle hummed. Adam started pacing again and Belle sighed.

"My father doesn't hate you," Belle sighed, she shook her head, "We're both proud of the man that you've become. You've become a king that is beloved by the people. You actually care about others and you're willing to take less for yourself. Your reign is very admirable. That's why Riva did it, to help the people of the country who admire you."

"That wasn't his decision to make," Adam said before sitting down on a chair with his head in his hands. He took a very deep breath in and Belle stood up, moving over to her husband and very gently rubbed his back.

"You can get angry, you can yell if you need to. I know that -" Adam sighed and looked at Belle, she smiled weakly and turned to him.

"You still see that part of me, don't you?" he asked and Belle laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Your wide range of emotions might be what makes you the _most_ human of all," Belle told him. She looked down not knowing what to say. Riva had done the best thing from a completely objective viewpoint but considering how old he was, how young he was, perhaps it wasn't such a good decision for _him_.

"I'm so damn angry," Adam finally told her as he looked at her. "This is my son they did this to, our son. You should never go after another person's child, you should deal with that person directly. That is the only fair thing to do."

Belle nodded she sighed and went over to Adam, she cupped his cheek and raised his chin so that she could kiss him. "We won't let him be in further harm, I promise," she told him and Adam sighed before nodding. He'd have to try to believe in those words.

Xxxxx

Xxxxx

_Belle had Riva sitting on her lap as they read a book together in the library. Adam was always so proud of their son. No matter what he did, Adam was proud to be Riva's father and would make him the center of his world. No, that was inaccurate, he also cared deeply about her and would selflessly give up so much to be with her. _

"'_Have a safe travel, Papa,' she called out. Despite her wicked stepmother's controlling nature and the trouble that her two stepsisters brought to her, she was determined to stay well behaved and courageous just like her father had taught her. Her courage was in her bravery. "I love you, Papa!" she called out as she saw her -"_

"_Papa," Riva repeated in a small voice and Belle's eyes widened. _

"_What did you say, my darling?" Belle asked the tiny little boy who was sitting on her lap and looking at the picture book. Belle had wondered if she had picked something too advanced for Riva but he pointed a the book again. _

"_Papa. Papa," he smiled and Belle turned to him. That was his first word. "Papa."_

"_Yes, that's Cinderella's papa," Belle said as she gestured to the book. "You have a papa too. Papa loves you so much, Riva, we both do. Mama and Papa love you so so much," she kissed the top of the little boy's head. Hopefully Adam would be even prouder that he was Riva's very first word. He had changed so much since the transformation, he deserved all the love that the two of them could give to him because he loved them in return. _

**End of Chapter Three**

**Thank you again to **gisela19wwe **for their review on Chapter Two**

**AN: **I actually have no memory of why I called him Riva since it came from 'With These Paws I'll Protect You' and since this is chapter three, I wasn't going to change the name for him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Adam stared at Henri Cogsworth absolutely horrified by the suggestion that he do some royal business and leave his family in the condition that they were in. He looked at the once-clock as if the idea didn't make any sense in his mind. His friend was really suggesting that he leave his son in this condition. "I can't do that to him. I know this is the choice that he made. He wasn't ready to inherit the throne but I can't leave him to fend for himself. I still don't trust that there is no one in the castle who wouldn't have his safety as a priority."

Adam looked at the mustached man desperately. He knew that he was the king now and certain duties came along with that but whereas the anger had subsided, the fear was always going to be strong in his mind. Riva didn't deserve this pain. He wished that he had been cursed instead but his son thought that being a beast would be easier than being in charge of the country.

He didn't know that his arguments could be heard throughout the castle, his protests against helping those who needed for the taxes to be directed into a way which helped them. Adam had trained for this. He had studied for this. He knew what peasant life was thanks to Belle and Maurice but…his son.

"Riva will be just fine, Adam. We have helped you through this before, I dare say," Cogsworth said and Adam nodded. He closed his eyes painfully. When he was in that state he had given up hope. He had not been expecting for his life to turn out this way. He had not been expecting to be living as a human or with a wife happily married or with kids he loved more than anything.

"Father," they both heard a loud growl from the staircase and they both turned to see Riva there. It was hard for him to control the strength of his voice. Adam related with that. He quickly moved up the stairs and looked his son in the eyes. He felt so much pain in looking at him and he reached up to touch his horn. He could barely see him underneath all of that fur. "You have to go."

"Riva," Adam said before throwing his arms lovingly around his oldest child. "I'm sorry. Are you feeling okay? Do you need for me to get something for you?" Adam turned back to look at Cogsworth. "Mrs. Potts," he said, using that name respectfully. "Is she…"

"I'm fine," Riva tried to assure Adam who wasn't believing any of it. "Father, it's your duty to go. It's your desire to help people. I know that it is."

Adam shook his head stubbornly, tears in his eyes. "Riva…I'm the only one who understands the pain that you're going through. Yes, you have us but you haven't even seen your siblings. I know that Belle will protect you but she has only ever witnessed this from the outside. Those paws were _my_ shackles."

Riva lifted his paws, turning them as he studied them. Yes, it was much harder to grasp things but he could do well enough. He brought his paw to his backside where his tail was. Adam understood how hard it was to deal with a tail or horns, new body parts that shouldn't have even been there. "My tail," Riva said and Adam nodded slowly. "I want to brush it but…do you need any special equipment."

Adam opened his mouth not knowing how to address it, "May I?" he asked as he lifted his hand and Riva took a quick step backwards. Adam gently touched his son's lower back. "Is it…how does it feel?" he asked before gently letting his fingers go through the hair. Coarse. "You need to treat it with a bath. There are certain ointments, soaps that will help. I'll make sure to provide a list of those before I leave," he promised him. "How about your horns? Are those causing you pain as well?" he asked and Riva nodded again, bowing his head shamefully.

"I'm fine, Papa. The horns don't bother me too badly," he said and Adam nodded, making sure to maintain eye contact with the eleven year old. No one should suffer this at eleven. No one should be forced to suffer this form at any age. Adam was about to reach out for his horn but he saw Belle holding Bastien.

"Bastien," Riva whispered, his eyes wide.

The sleepy six year old froze as he saw the monster standing there and clung tight to Belle, shaking his head and shaking with fear. Adam looked between his two sons. Bastien might be too young to understand and he had always idolized his big brother before this. Adam placed a gentle and protective hand on Riva's chest.

"It's okay, my darling," Belle tried to calm the fears of the small child. "I told you that Riva got sick, right? Well, Riva is sick in a much different way than ever before."

Riva nervously crouched down and Adam's eyes grew wider. Was his son ill? Had he stumbled and fallen due to a sickness? Riva looked up at his younger brother trying to show that he had nothing to worry about but they were all fearful Bastien would misunderstand this.

"Bastien," Riva said as he looked up at him, taking deep breaths in and out and both Belle and Adam could see how nervous he was. "It's me. It's Riva. I was put under a curse like your storybook? Do you remember your storybook?"

Bastien nodded and rubbed at his eyes. "Wiva?" he asked through his tears and Riva nodded.

"I'm sorry that I look so scary, Bastien," Riva apologized, "But I am still me. I am still your big brother. My appearance has changed a lot but…but I promise. You will always be my little brother."

Bastien wiped away more tears but scrambled out of Belle's hold. She sat on the step behind Bastien and was surprised when the little boy ran into his big brother's arms. Riva held him close as Adam shared a look of surprise but hope with Belle.

Bastien hugged his brother as much as he could but after some time he stepped back. Riva only let him out of the embrace when he knew that Bastien wanted to leave it. "Wiva?" he asked and Riva nodded his head, trying to smile though he was still uncertain and scared of rejection. "You're warm and fluffy like a pillow," he said before grabbing hold of his brother's face despite the large pointed fangs poking out. "I see you in your eyes," he said.

"I'm glad, little brother," Riva said as he carefully let his paw touch his brother's soft cheek. Bastien shivered again, moving awkwardly with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry that I look so scary," Riva apologized again and Bastien shook his head.

"Can you still play with me?" he asked and Riva blinked in surprise.

"I'd very much like to, little brother," he said and Bastien smiled and rubbed his eyes again. "How about we get some breakfast and then we can play whatever game you like."

"Hide and sweek?" Bastien said before hiccupping.

Riva hesitated. He wasn't sure how much fun Bastien would have with him. This body was much harder to hide as it took up a larger amount of space and he was nearly as tall as Adam was but he nodded. "Sure," he tried to smile, the larger teeth showing but Bastien took no notice of that. "Yeah," Riva stood up and offered his paw to Bastien who grabbed to it. "How about we ask for breakfast now?" he asked and Bastien nodded, holding onto his brother's hand despite the obvious change in him.

Adam watched them go and saw Bastien drop Riva's hand to touch his brother's tail. Despite how he had just explained the pain and tension he was feeling in the new addition to his body, Riva smiled at Bastien as if it hadn't hurt him at all. Belle laughed in relief before coming to Adam and straightening the collar of his shirt and jacket.

"Bastien is such a sweet boy that he would have accepted his brother eventually but I'm glad that it was a shorter period of adjustment than we had expected. Now, you need to go and do a good job and make it so that you can direct resources where they are most needed. Do your best with your work and come back to us unharmed, okay?" Belle asked. Adam nodded but before he could say anything Belle snuck a kiss and he leaned into her.

"Do you think that you're going to be able to care for Riva?" he asked nervously and Belle nodded.

"I managed to be with you. I'm not completely unfamiliar with his transformation. Remember how I helped you after the wolves when we were by the fire and you had all of those years of pain forcing you to create a defense for yourself," Belle said and Adam looked to her sadly.

"I mistreated you so badly," he said before bowing his head. "I truly apologize. I don't know how you stuck by me for all of these years."

Belle sighed, "You were Riva's age when they forced you to suffer with the change. You were cursed because you jeered at an ugly old woman who wanted to stay in the castle for the price of a rose. You were only a child then. You didn't deserve that. And you were kind to me, you listened to me. As I was told, I had to learn to look past all of your flaws and I'm glad that I did. You are the sweetest man I've ever met and you're not scared to learn new things. You also show great humility even now," she replied. "This mistreatment, I believe a large part of it is guilt."

"For acting like a monster, for taking your father prisoner, for taking _you_ as my prisoner," Adam told her and Belle kissed him again, wrapping her arms around him as she remembered all the reasons why his transformation from the Beast had been the most enchanting moment of her life.

"I love you as you, Adam. Whether you had to undergo that curse again or whether you remain as you are. I love you," she assured him and Adam smiled.

Adam brought Belle's hand to his lips and kissed it in the way a proper gentleman would. "I love you," he told her before looking towards the door. "I will return as soon as I am able," he promised her and Belle smiled. They felt a sense of safety at that moment until a guard came in accompanying an important guest.

"Papa!" Belle yelled as she ran down the stairs and wrapped her arms around Maurice lovingly. "We weren't expecting you."

"Am I not allowed to stop here to see my daughter," Maurice laughed, "and where are my gorgeous grandchildren and that prince of yours."

Adam coughed before bowing. He always felt awkward when Maurice visited or they went to see him. "Maurice, it's always a pleasure when our paths cross…well I still offer my apologies for that first encounter. I don't have the words to express my regret."

"I thought that I forgave you at your wedding when you said that to me the twentieth time or was it thirtieth, well you've apologized to me hundreds of times," Maurice said as he waved off Adam's regret. "I consider you a worthy son in law."

"Then my worth might be tested once again," Adam said and Maurice blinked at him confused.

"Papa," Belle tried to explain, "Something has happened to Riva."

**End of Chapter Four**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**I'm actually starting something new with my stories. Because I have so many I am going to use three criteria to decide which ones to update next. One of those is the number of reviews on the latest chapter because this truly lets me know if people would be excited for more**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three

APhuturePhantom, BellatrixBlack1997, Gisela19wwe


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Maurice looked between his daughter and son-in-law. He could see their sadness and worry but Maurice loved all three of his grandchildren. How could he not? These were children which Belle had given birth to. They were family Adam had proven himself a good person and a good son even with all the internal scars he carried with him. Maurice looked at them again.

"What happened to my grandson?" Maurice asked them and Belle hesitated. Adam bowed his head.

"He took it on himself. I attempted to keep him from it by taking it on myself but he decided to bear the burden of the curse," Adam said regretfully. He just wished there was some way of breaking it or having it himself. If he knew that he was doing it on his son's behalf then it wouldn't be nearly as bad as the last time. He wondered how Belle would have felt about that but he knew she loved him.

"You mean…" Maurice said slowly, "He's like you."

"How I used to be," Adam nodded, "He's bearing it much better than I did but physically, yes, the physical changes are very similar."

"Papa, we hope you don't see Riva any differently. Adam really did attempt to protect him," she said standing up for her husband's motives. Maurice nodded slowly. Adam's regret was painfully obvious. He had tried to help his son by becoming the beast again but his son knew how much his leadership for the country was worth. He had to be the face of the people. The face of the people shouldn't look like _that_.

"May I see my grandson?" Maurice asked respectfully and Belle looked between the two men.

"Let me ask him, Papa. You two will be all right if I leave to ask him?" she asked and Maurice sighed as he saw a little anxiety flash through Adam's eyes.

"We'll be fine," he said before turning to his son-in-law. "Adam, my dislike of you ended years ago, soon after your transformation to be completely honest. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I trust you and I trust my daughter. That's why when she said you were good, I believed her. Adam, I would be a fool to blame you for what happened. You spent your whole teenage years kept away from the world, from proper socialization. Anyone would feel pain and emotional scarring from that."

"Anyone would become a beast on the inside?" Adam asked and Maurice nodded. "Riva hasn't."

"Riva has you and Belle. Your parents disowned you because of your form. I know that you and Belle are giving Riva all the support that you can. Your situations are very different," Maurice attempted to remind him and Adam nodded sadly. He had wanted to protect his son but Riva had chosen beast over king.

"I remember when Riva was born," Maurice smiled. "I've never seen anyone so thrilled to become a new father and the way that you held him, so protectively. You've changed so much."

"Riva is my precious son," Adam said before seeing Belle walking with Riva to the front. Adam looked at Riva protectively and Riva shivered as he stood in front of his grandfather. Maurice looked him over with a sad and sympathetic smile.

"Riva," he said as he paused after saying his grandson's name, "How are you coping?"

"It's not too bad," Riva replied weakly and put a paw to his chest, "You knew who I am?" he said and Maurice laughed.

"Of course I know my own grandson," he said and Riva looked at his paws again. He looked completely different from how he had been before but Maurice wasn't cowering in fear of him. He knew that he looked scary and threatening but Maurice didn't seem either scared or threatened.

"I'm going to look for a cure," Adam told them. "I promise."

"Papa, it's okay," Riva said as he saw the sadness that Adam held within him. He saw the guilt of his father and the fact that he regretted being so spoiled and selfish as a little boy. It didn't make sense that he was the one who opened the door. It didn't make sense that an enchantress would expect an eleven-year-old boy to act any differently than he did when a haggard old woman offered him a rose to stay in a castle. Adam still blamed himself for all of this. Those wounds would never be able to go away, not when they were ten years deep.

"Adam, you have to go," Belle reminded him. "We'll make sure that Riva is safe. You have to go out and do your royal duties," she said before placing her hands on his shoulders and kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you too, Papa" Riva told him and Adam hugged each of them.

"I know that I don't deserve to ask for a favor," Adam said as he looked at Maurice, "but please take care of my family in my absence."

"You never have to ask me for that," Maurice reassured him and with one last concerned look to Riva, Adam left accompanied by several guardsmen and Henri who would give him the best advice. Riva stepped out as he saw the royal carriage leave and then turned to walk into the castle again. He collapsed on his knees and sobbed. Belle and Maurice turned to him with alarm and Belle rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her son.

"It's okay," she told him. "Papa's going to come home as soon as he can and I'm here. Mama's here," she tried to reassure the boy. He was just a kid and he had been acting so bravely around Adam. Riva must have known how much the guilt was affecting Adam and didn't want to hurt him further.

"I'm a monster," Riva told her and Belle kissed his cheek a few times.

"Don't call yourself that," she said firmly. "You're _not_ a monster. You're only a boy. We've got you," she assured him before letting Riva cry into her lap. She gently brushed his fur back with her hand. "I love you, my little Riva," she said before turning to Maurice and saw his sadness.

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Adam had said that he needed to clear his head as they headed into Paris. He took a deep breath in before following a dark alley way where people had said that magic could be performed. He needed to find a cure for Riva. As he found a small shop, his eyes widened and he looked around. The haggard woman from the past was there. Why was she there? He hadn't expected to find her exactly, just find some kind of a cure.

"I was looking for you," she told him and then raised an eyebrow at him, "Were you looking for me?"

"I'm looking for a cure," Adam said as he looked away. "Riva was innocent. Why did you have to go after an innocent boy?" he asked and the enchantress turned herself away from the old woman. She saw how Adam didn't look at her any differently.

"Your family means that much to you, I suppose," she told him and Adam nodded. "So much that if I helped you, you would agree never to see them again?" she asked and Adam paused. "Well, your son has refused to be king so…"

"There has to be some way of compromising," Adam told her and the enchantress laughed.

"How about if your wife was made the ruling queen?" she asked and Adam took a deep breath in. That would work. Belle had always been more intelligent than him. Adam stiffly nodded.

"Would it save Riva?" he asked her and the enchantress smiled wickedly before nodding.

"But you must beg to me like the animal which you are," she said to him and Adam dropped down onto his knees in front of her. He felt her start to pet his head and felt ill as his body grew, the horns and tail appeared on him and he was covered in fur. He felt ill. He felt his head drop down onto the ground and then heard something like a whistle. He couldn't move. He had transformed but he couldn't move. What was happening? Was Riva okay?

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Belle was reading Riva and Bastien one of her favorite stories whilst Maurice was tucking Marie into bed. Marie hadn't seen Riva's new form, she would be the hardest one to help adjust. As Belle read the book, she saw Riva clutch to his chest and he leaned forwards, falling off of the sofa. Belle rushed to his side, stroking his face by his horn and hoping to calm him.

"Riva," she said in complete panic. "Riva, breathe for me." She looked up at the guards, "Can you get some help?" she pleaded. "He needs help." Belle was about to turn him when she felt a familiar magic around him and she saw him transform into his human self. "Riva," she said in relief. Maybe Adam was right. Maybe he had broken the spell.

"Riva," she said as Bastien crept forward and then they felt that they weren't alone in the room any longer. Belle looked up and she knew exactly who was there and she felt such hate towards them. She stood and curtseyed nonetheless. "You must be the enchantress," she said wanting to slap her but trying her best to maintain respect.

"You shouldn't be curtseying to me. You are the queen. You are the ruling monarch," she said and Belle blinked, taking a look at Riva. Wasn't he supposed to be heir to the throne, the next in li—

Belle froze, her eyes widening a little, "Where's Adam? Is he okay? What happened to him?"

"He offered his life for the transformation," the enchantress said as she gestured to Riva. "His last words were how he wanted me to change the rules to make you the queen. As the queen, I have a couple of gifts for you," she said and Belle shivered, tears appearing in her eyes. Adam _would _have given his life for Riva.

"First of all, I hope you know of a good tailor who knows how to deal with fur," she said as she placed what looked like a large rug made out of Adam's beastly body. "And I've never had it but cured beast meat must taste nice," she said before putting down a crate that had a tail in it and lots of meat seemingly taken from Adam's body. "Lastly, you might want to save this one," she said as she pushed forward another crate.

Belle was screaming inside her head and she looked back to see Riva's anger and horror as well as Bastien's confusion. When she turned around again the enchantress was gone. Nervously Belle opened the second crate and then slammed the lid on it again, her entire body going white. "Riva, Bastien, you have to leave the room." She told them and they looked at her. Belle's voice was stern and authoritative making Bastien nod and leave but seeing the fur, seeing the meat, Riva didn't want to leave. He had to see for himself what was in the crate.

Belle felt as if her body was torn apart as she looked to what was placed into the crate. She had seen bears and moose on the walls, hung there as trophies. She had even seen the odd rabbit. She had never seen _this_ before. On a wooden board there was Adam's beast head. His eyes and face all seemed treated as if by a taxidermist. She slowly lifted it feeling as if she were going insane.

Everything looked real. Everything was accurate.

She didn't have the strength to scream or even cry. She felt as if she were completely disconnected from the world. She just kept hearing Gaston's voice from all those years ago. _We're not safe until its head is mounted on my wall. _She didn't know what to do with this. She very gently touched his horn as if he could still feel her. She nervously placed a finger on his eye which looked exactly the same but it was as if it was made of glass.

Riva went to the side to throw up having seen it. His own body was shaking but Belle just sat there with the head on her lap. She felt as if she were going mad. Before she knew what was happening, the head vanished and she heard a scream from the entrance way. She ran that way knowing Mrs. Potts was there and saw where she was looking. Hanging on the wall was the head, Adam's head.

Belle stared at it, her knees giving out and she fell to the ground not knowing what emotions to express, they were all negative. This couldn't be happening. Nobody could be _this_ cruel.

**End of Chapter Five**

**Thank you for reading**

**There is a plot twist to this, actually a couple plot twists stemming from this chapter**

Thank you to the reviewers from Chapter Four

BellatrixBlack1997, gisela19wwe


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_Belle grinned as she came into the nursery where Adam was already up and holding Riva in his arms. He was bouncing him a little and smiling as the infant fell asleep in his arms. Belle placed a hand on Adam's back. "I was wondering where you had gone," she said before reaching out and pushing Riva's hair back. "You could have had the nursemaid do this."_

"_My little boy was in need and I'm his father." Adam smiled and placed a loving hand atop Riva's head. Belle saw in his eyes how much he loved their family and how he was truly embracing his role as the father. Belle moved forwards and let her head rest against him as he set Riva down in his bed. _

"_Do you think that I'm doing okay?" Adam asked and Belle took his hand and kissed it. _

"_Amazing. You're a great father," she told him. She knew that due to the painful teenage years in his life, Adam had a lot of trouble when it came to having confidence in his abilities but he was a wonderful father. She just wanted him to believe in himself a little more. _

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Despite asking, pleading, and even ordering for the head to be taken down and removed from the entranceway, for some reason there was a strong curse that was keeping it there. Belle couldn't leave the area right in front of it. She didn't want to leave him. What had he done? She was told that now it would be seen as legal for her to run the country until Riva was of age but this sacrifice was too much. She felt as if she were losing her mind.

He had been skinned and the pelt was still in the other room. He had been butchered and that meat had been taken outside to be treated with salt until she knew how she wanted to destroy it. This head though. This was his head that had held – if it didn't still – his brain. His love. His personality. That was all gone. Adam was gone.

Belle had rotated through crying and screaming as she looked at it. She knew he had been concerned but Riva had seemed to be coping okay. Even if Adam had come back in this form, he would still have been alive. Belle didn't care what he looked like. Even if he came back as Gaston's clone, she would love him.

"Mama?" Riva asked nervously as he approached her. Several of the servants had encouraged her to move but she hadn't responded to them. Riva looked up at the decapitated head of his own father, now turned into a wall decoration. He felt the pain and guilt and loss within him. "I think you need to move," he told her.

Belle stared up at the head, "His last thoughts were about me," she said before sobbing more. She put and arm around herself. "Adam," she said as she broke apart again. He had been the first person to really understand her on an emotional and intellectual level and not only was he dead but his body had been treated like an animal's. His head was on her wall as if she were a hunter who had killed him.

She had lost his companionship. She had lost someone who loved and supported her. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She had been so much younger when she had met him thirteen years ago and now his head wasn't on his body where it belonged.

"I'm sorry," Belle finally said as she stood up and turned. "I have to get some fresh air," she said as she looked back at Adam's head. "I'll be back soon, my love," she said before trembling as she went to the front entrance. Everyone showed great concern for her but when she told them firmly not to follow her, they agreed.

Belle looked around not knowing what happiness was any longer. She turned towards the stables and thought of Philippe. She would gladly be Adam's prisoner again if she knew he was here with her. Hearing a sound from the trees, Belle took a deep breath and wondered whether or not to approach. She couldn't hear Philippe struggling but she might have moved further had that been the case.

Belle swore that she could see a horn in the flash of lightning overhead and she heard some kind of purr when the rain started to beat down. She would get sick if she spent too long out here. "He-Hello?" she asked as she grabbed to a nearby lantern and approached the figure .

"I'm not very good at following the rules," she heard a voice say and she felt like she was completely losing it. She stepped forwards and tilted her head to the side. She was going mad. She had seen Adam's head mounted on the wall. The enchantress had told her that he was dead. "I had to see you."

Belle stepped forwards as she saw Adam's beast form. He was supposed to have died. Belle stared at him and he blinked back at her. "A-Adam?" she asked, her voice breaking. She took a few more steps towards him and walked into him. He was naked apart from his fur. This wasn't a trap, was it? He held her back with such protectiveness. "I thought….I was told…"

"I can't stay here," Adam told her and Belle blinked at him. He had to stay. She didn't know how she could survive were he not to stay. "I promised to keep away." Belle shook her head stubbornly as she held onto him.

"I know that you are my imagination but please just hold me a little longer," she begged wanting to believe in this dream. The state of things inside the castle were terrible that even a fake-Adam would be better than none. Adam tilted his jaw so that he could kiss her even with this large jaw that seemed to eclipse Belle's own. She placed her hand over her mouth as she stepped away. "It feels so real," she told him and saw the sympathetic glance he showed to her.

"How's Riva? Is he okay?" Adam asked and Belle nodded. She still couldn't stop that kiss from seeing so real. Suddenly there was a noise of more people going outside and Belle watched him go with the last words ones that she had memorized in his voice, "I love you, Belle."

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"Your Majesty?" one of the guards asked as Belle stood turned in the direction of where Adam had just run off. She looked back at the guard after a while before smiling. "I'm sorry, I just saw him."

The palace guard sighed. "My queen, the king is dead. I regret to inform you of that but the king _is_ dead." Belle seemed to ignore the words, looking off in the direction which Adam had been. He had had a full body. He had kept his flesh, his bone, his fur. He didn't seem to have particularly been hurt in the ways they had suggested.

"I know," Belle said as the sadness returned to her voice. "I know that he's no longer here. I miss him."

"I understand but we look to you to run the kingdom," the guard told her and Belle didn't say anything to him. She just walked into the castle and knelt in front of Adam's head. Her body was shaking and tears rolled down her cheeks but she kept gazing at the head that was on the wall of her beloved Adam.

"I'm sorry, Adam. I'll look after Riva and do my best like you want. It was nice to see you tonight even if it was just your ghost. I love you too, Adam," she spoke to the mounted beast before closing her eyes. He wouldn't respond to her again. He would just be staring out into the world as if celebrated for being a monster. That would be most painful. Adam was nothing close to the beast he appeared.

"Dear," Mrs. Potts said as she approached Belle. She stared up at Adam's head feeling a deep hate inside of her as well as sorrow, grief, loss, anger. He had tried to do everything in his power to bring the kingdom the joy and prosperity that it deserved and he had been given this as his reward. It was unacceptable. "You need some rest. You'll need to become queen in his honor," she said and Belle looked up at the head. She sobbed before looking down.

"Can you get me a chair and a blanket. I want to stay here with him," she said as if giving life to the head on the wall. "I don't want him to feel alone any longer," she said and Mrs. Potts tried to decide whether it was right of her to do that or better to argue with Belle.

Riva looked at the head again and then at his mother. He stared at his hands which had only recently been paws. "Papa, why did you do that?" he asked before hearing growls inside his head. Why did he still feel trapped in a beast's body if he didn't look like one? He hated seeing the head there, staring out for eternity. What the hell had his father done for this type of mockery? His mother was already beginning to lose her mind and he was losing his strength. If his father had been tortured like this, then they had no qualms of doing the same thing to him.

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Riva had found it nearly impossible to go to sleep that night. His father's head was on the hall of their entrance way, his body had been turned into raw steak, his skin was little more than an animal skin rug. This was his Papa. This was his Papa who always played with him, read to him, showed how much he cared for him. Maybe his father was a little unorthodox sometimes, maybe he was a little rough around the corners, maybe he lacked self-confidence but nobody deserved to be slain like an animal.

Riva however had found himself falling into his nightmares. He looked around, there were great trees around him that tore into the sky, the atmosphere was cold and wet because of the storm, he could hear the crack of thunder and as he raised his head, he could see the animals around him scurry away in fear.

Somehow this felt so real. He moved forwards, dragging his body with him. A branch fell down and scratched his back and as Riva looked back he saw the large beastly body was naked. He was alone. He took a sharp breath, the smell was terrible.

Moving forwards on all four paws, Riva went to a dirty pond and sunk his paw into the water, he brought it to his mouth before looking at the image reflected in the water. This was his father!? He was in his dad's body during this dream? This must have some deeper meaning to it. He desperately drank the water, it tasted disgusting.

_God, what is that? _He asked and saw the eyes of his father's reflection widen and he looked around quickly.

_Riva_!? Where are you? You can't be here, son.

Riva's eyes opened wide as he heard his father's voice saying that, as he opened his eyes though he could only see the castle. He closed his eyes again and tried hard to calm himself. Eventually he could look around at the wood again.

_Riva!?" _he could hear his father ask, the desperation and fear obvious in the reflection of the water.

_I'm not there, Papa_. Riva said and he could see his Papa nod. He didn't know how he was seeing this but somehow it felt real. It felt like they were telepathically linked. _I'm in my bed at home….where you're supposed to be. _

He saw his father try to make sense of this and then saw a crow come to attack his face. He felt a pain in his body as he felt his arm raise and strike the bird until it ended up in his mouth. Riva could feel the strange sensation of the feathers along his large jaw and teeth.

_Papa, we want you home. Even if you are in this form. We need you home. _Riva begged and he saw only the bloody corpse of the bird before Adam went over to the lake and his eyes widened as Riva finally felt himself staring at his Papa for real. Did that mean that Adam was seeing _him_?

_Riva. I need for you to take care of your mother, _Adam begged him. _She needs to be queen in my absence. I am sorry that we never had the ti-_

"You're the king!" Riva yelled with his eyes still closed. "Even like this you're the king! You have to understand that we don't see you as a monster! I don't think mother has truly ever seen you as a monster once she started to fall in love with you."

"_Belle is strong, kind, intelligent…she will be the be-"_

"She thinks you're dead!" Riva yelled at him.

"_She saw me tonight," _Adam replied and Riva sobbed painfully. He felt too young for this. How was he connected to his father? He hadn't ever felt like this before but at least he knew that his father was alive.

_She thinks that your head is mounted on the wall of the entrance to our castle. She thinks that you were killed, prepared to be eaten, skinned for your fur, and your head Is on the wall. If that isn't you head then it's a fake but mother is going to lose her mind if she has to look at it every day without knowing you're alive!"_

Adam shook his head, "_Riva, the danger that my coming back there might cause"_

"_Don't you get it, Papa! We love you. We want to stand with you no matter what." _Riva begged and he could see Adam nod as he looked into the pond. He didn't look like he had changed his mind but Riva wanted to persuade him to let them handle this as a family.

Riva's connection was broken when he felt someone grab him by the shoulders and he jerked into Belle's hold. She embraced him, her body already seeming weaker and frailer. "Riva," she asked as she pushed his hair back affectionately. "Riva, are you okay?"

"Dad's alive," Riva gasped and Belle looked to him with a hollow expression. Riva worried for her. He knew that she was beginning to break down and lose her mind but he hoped that he wasn't too late to save her. 

**End of Chapter Six**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Five

Bgrangerweasley, KathyMesser


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Riva watched his mother the next morning and found that she was staring at the fake-Adam's head. She wouldn't be moved from that spot. She had loyalty towards those she loved but that same loyalty was leading her into madness. One thing Riva didn't want was for Belle to wind up in a mental asylum. Still, hearing that the love of her life had been skinned, butchered, and taken to a taxidermist was enough to send even the strongest over the edge.

"Mama," he said slowly as he walked over to her and hugged her. For once, Belle didn't return the hug. She was too broken for that. "Papa wouldn't want you doing this. He wouldn't want you to suffer. He's alive. I'm not sure what you were given but Papa's alive. I'm connected to him. I can feel it."

Belle tilted her head as she looked at the mounted head, "Is that right, Adam?" she asked. "I'll do what you need to, my love. Do you need me to move?"

Riva stared at her and then looked to the head. It did look like his father in that brief moment in which he had seen him but it couldn't be true. The dream – the nightmare seemed too real.

"He's not answering me," Belle whispered. "Did I do something wrong, my love?" she asked and Riva hung to her again. She was so intelligent, so strong, so level-headed but that wasn't the woman he was seeing here. She was pale, getting weaker at every moment, her face was red and blotchy due to the tears, and she hadn't even run a brush through her hair.

"Mama, that's not Papa's head. Papa is alive. What can I do to prove it to you?" he asked before Belle started humming to herself as if not reacting to the world around her. Riva only stood when he saw his grandfather there. He kissed the top of his mother's head before going to Maurice. "Grandpa?" he asked in a pleading manner as Maurice looked at the head and then at Belle with such sorrow. "I have to do something right now, something that will help our family but I need you to take care of Mama. Maybe you could get her to move?" he asked. "Or she could go see Phillipe and his children or grandchildren. Mama got excited at the new foals last year."

Maurice nodded stiffly as he saw his daughter enduring such pain and heartache. "Belle, my darling," he said as he went over to her but Belle's eyes didn't leave the severed head. Adam had expected too much from her…well, nobody could have expected or planned for this.

BatBBatBBatB

Adam looked around the wood as he heard a hunting party nearby. He had to run and hide somewhere. He was no longer king. He wasn't even human any longer. If they saw him then they would kill him. He managed to hide behind a tree as he heard the sound of a horse trot by. His body was too large for this. Soon he would run out of ways to protect himself. He supposed he could always _try_ to work on the offensive but he didn't want to harm anyone and that would mean too much exposure.

He panted as he ran on four legs to a part of the woods far away from the party, scaring some smaller animals as he did so. He had no idea how he had seen Riva the previous night. Well, he had mostly heard him and only seen him briefly in that lake.

As Adam attempted to hide again, he could hear his son's voice.

_Papa, Papa can you hear me? _His son begged to him, _Please hear me._

_I hear you, Riva. _Adam said as he tried to work out whether there was a way to see his son. _Are you okay? Do you know how we are connected? _He asked and heard Riva sob. The painful sob echoed around him but Adam had the sense that only he could hear this.

_That doesn't matter now. I'm worried. Mama's lost it, _he told his father and Adam's eyes widened. He knew that the hunting party was some distance from him. He had time to converse with his son no matter _how_ he was doing it.

_What do you mean your mother's lost it? _Adam asked with great concern. _Is she sick? Will she get better? _

_I'm scared she'll be taken to a mental hospital or perhaps lobotomized, _he relayed and Adam's eyes grew wider. They couldn't do that to her. He couldn't allow for them to do that to her. _I've heard that maybe shock thera-_

Adam found himself to sob painfully but was worried the hunters might hear him.

_Riva, if I come back there, it will negate the deal I made with the enchantress. You'll have to bear the curse again. Those will be the consequences. _

_Deal. Come back, please. _Riva begged him knowing that it would mean his whole life would become different once again but being called a monster was worth it if it meant his family was together and his mother could get better. He didn't want to lose both parents even if it meant no longer having a human life. _Papa. I need you to come back. We all need for you to come back._

Adam felt a sinking in his stomach but he had never denied his son before and he could feel the seriousness of the situation. _I'm on my way._ He replied before working out what was the best direction back to the castle.

BatBBatBBatB

"Your Majesty, we have to go over the travel plans with you," a guard said to Belle who was still kneeling in front of Adam's head as she had done the day before. She looked up at him, her heart breaking. She felt the tears fall from her face again. This world was beginning to not make sense to her. The words that were being said weren't making sense. They shouldn't leave Adam's head there. Adam shouldn't have -

"Have you ever heard of tact before?" Cogsworth said before rolling his eyes and approaching Belle. "Belle, my dear," he said as he looked at her. "Adam wouldn't want you to suffer. I just wish that I had followed him in Paris that was my own fault but -"

Belle blinked back tears, "It's okay. He wouldn't blame you."

"Can we have this thing removed?" Cogsworth clapped his hands but the servants all stared at the head. There was a dark spell forcing it to remain there.

Belle's face flashed with anger as she grabbed the head of the house's arm. "Don't call Adam 'this thing'" she said before hearing gasps and silence around her but she stayed looking at her husband's head. Even Cogsworth was stuck standing in complete disbelief but Belle ignored him.

"He has a point," she heard a familiar voice, "that thing _is_ hideous."

Belle felt herself staring at the head as she could hear mutterings, talking, the word 'Your Majesty' a number of times. She stared at it until she felt something beside her. Her eyes were filled with pain but she saw brown fur out of the corner of her eyes.

"Is that really how I look?" he asked and Belle turned to him. She stared between the head and the beast next to her. She saw those beautiful blue eyes of his and how much love was behind them. There were two heads. She looked at the Adam beside her and she looked at the head on the wall. She shivered a little and saw the physically moving Adam turn to her.

"I'm here, my princess," he told her and Belle bowed her head, starting to laugh to herself over the pain. Adam knew this was her hurting and he moved towards the head. Belle watched him tear at it, trying to yank it down. She saw it fly back and screamed. Adam's head had been thrown back. What if it was damaged? What if she was missing a piece of him? What if his eye had popped out?

"Adam!" she screamed painfully before getting up on very shaky legs and rushing to the head that had hung on the wall. As she lifted it, she saw that it had turned into a cow's head. She blinked but then saw the larger 'beast' in the room and she walked towards him. "Adam?" she asked weakly, her hair was tangled and her body extremely pale. She definitely didn't look like a queen.

"Belle," Adam said as he turned to her. "Are you okay? Do you hu-" he tried to inquire but she had run over to him and thrown her arms around him crying into his fur. Adam carefully held her back and she just pulled in closer to hm. "It's okay," Adam tried to reassure her. "I've got you." He looked up to see Riva smiling upon them and made sure to hold Belle close, smiling to his son and nodding in appreciation. Belle, his strong and independent Belle, had needed him. He saw Maurice staring at the two of them before he nodded showing his support even with Adam in the condition in which he had once imprisoned him.

Adam felt his pain increase as he felt the fur start to change and the horns to slip as he became human and he looked up at Riva as he became a beast. He had broken the deal in coming back here. Adam watched as Maurice cared for his grandson. Adam pulled Belle closer and kissed her forehead. His eyes showed guilt as he looked at his eldest son feeling like a failure as a father.

Riva looked at his hands as they became paws but knew he had made the right decision for his family. Belle clung tighter to Adam as his body shrank. Adam pulled her into him before mouthing to Maurice. 'I wish there was another way.' His father-in-law nodded to him. Hopefully Belle would recover from the trauma and tragedy she had been victim to.

**End of Chapter Seven**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Six

Gisela19wwe


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Okay. Maybe he wasn't the right one to say this. Just because he had suffered and gotten better and stronger from it didn't meant that he knew anything about health. Adam had ten years of knowing more about beast biology than human biology but in all of those years since then, he had never imagined seeing his precious Belle in such a state. He had had to persuade her into bed but she was still breathing heavily and shaking and he had tried everything to get her to relax before asking for her to be lulled by a mix of floral and herbal notes.

He hated that he had more or less drugged his wife until she slept. She had always been such an incredibly strong woman. She had been fearless and opinionated and independent and those were some of the traits which he loved most about her. Even when she had been in childbirth, she had never been this weak.

Adam heard a sound from outside the room and very quickly got up wondering who would be walking around at night. He looked in shock as he saw it was his father-in-law who he hadn't been expecting. "Good eve-morning," Adam said nervously as he looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. He hadn't even noticed due to his concern. "Is something wrong?"

"How's Belle?" Maurice asked and Adam bowed his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She's…not doing well at all," he had to admit. "I don't know how I can help her this time. I was hoping that my return would be enough but I think she's still in shock. I caused this to happen. I wanted her to know that I was alive but I thought that the family could be strong enough and Riva…" Adam looked down haunted as he thought about what his eldest child had to be going through right now. "I promise you," Adam said as he started shaking in fear. "If there was another way."

"I'm sure that you didn't think that you'd be seeing something dressed up as a version of your head hung on the wall of the castle," Maurice said and Adam looked at him completely disturbed.

"For her to come and present _that_ to Belle. For her to…" Adam shivered, "The pelt? The meat? I…If someone had done that to me and said that I would have to wear Belle, that I would have to eat her, that I would have to present her as some kind of prize on my wall…the only way I could have survived was by reminding myself of the children. I assume that Belle must have felt the same way."

Maurice nodded as he felt his stomach lurch. Adam had flaws but then so did everybody. At no point in his knowing Adam had Maurice felt a desire to eat him, maybe kill him and rescue Belle from imprisonment but not to that degree and not when he learned that he was actually human under all of that. Besides, Adam had changed so much and worked on that change. He knew he had messed up but he had admitted to it and still wore his past as shackles around his wrists.

"It must also hurt her knowing that she was tricked," Maurice said and Adam nodded.

He still felt that the enchantress had pushed Belle too far and although he was trying his best to hold her back from plummeting off the cliff, he was still worried about her. At least she hadn't been forced to eat any of that meat. The idea of eating the one who you loved. Adam coughed as he thought about it, wanting to vomit at the pain. Maurice looked at him with concern.

"I'm okay," the king said as he looked to the inventor. "You know, I always thought that enchantresses were good and that they used their powers for good," he said and Maurice stared at him wide eyed. How long had Adam been feeling this way? Yes, someone had tried to turn him into a beast when he was a child for a cold remark and they were the good person. "I thought that I was made into a beast because I was bad and I had a lot of faults and flaws in my character but Riva doesn't deserve this. Riva is an amazingly strong young man, he doesn't deserve to feel the things that I went through. And Belle…all Belle did was love me, care about this country, adore our children. That is not worth what she had to go through. I should have never allowed my family to endure this harsh reality."

Maurice coughed as he heard all of this and attempted to make sense of it. "Did you say that you thought that the enchantress was good? For ten years as you were in that state you -"

Adam sighed, "I did," he told him with a weak look. "I thought that I had been punished because I was bad and the enchantress had been the good against the bad. They were a beautiful enchantress and I was a hideous beast. In all the stories which I had learned at the time, there were good and kind witches and evil and wicked monsters. I was the monster. It was only after the curse broke that I stopped looking at things that way. I was given a choice to kill a man and yet, I knew I didn't want to. I knew that this was a life and there's a difference between protecting your own life and harming others. If a beast was to make that decision, there has to be some good."

"So, the real message that I should have taken is that everyone can be both villain and hero. I was told that no love was in my heart and that the inside is what counts. Who even says that to a child? If I knew that Bastien, Riva, or even Marie had no love in their hearts then I'd try and fix it. I wouldn't curse them. It's not a child's fault if there is no love, it's the parents and that's what I lacked," Adam smiled weakly to Maurice. "Thank you for listening to me. After all of the bad things which I've done."

"You definitely don't sound like someone who didn't have love in their heart," Maurice said before rolling his eyes. "That woman though….do you know why she specifically came after you?"

"Because I was a prince? _The_ prince?" Adam shrugged. "If I was still a beast right now and I had never met Belle then I wouldn't be king and the throne would be left open after my parents deaths and…" Adam looked to Maurice as something sparked in his eyes. "Do you think she was after the crown?" he asked as if the idea were new in his mind.

Maurice was about to argue but they both heard Belle screaming as if she were being attacked and without any hesitation, Adam flew back into the room and brought his princess into his arms. He found Belle shaking and grabbing to him as she broke down into tears. "I'm here, my beloved," Adam told her as he kissed her forehead and she sobbed painfully holding him.

"You're not real," she whispered but he continued to hold her. "You're not real."

"I am real, Belle," he tried to promise her. "My love," he slid his hand underneath her cheek and raised her head so that they were making eye contact. "I am here. I am right here. I'm not dead, okay? You can touch me, right?" he asked and Belle nodded.

"You're my imagination" she whispered in the same manner a scared girl might and Adam pulled her into him so that he had her seated on his lap. He swayed her gently as he got a blanket to wrap around her. Adam looked up at Maurice who was staring at the two of them. "Please don't leave," she begged and Adam continued to hold her until he had rocked her back to sleep.

Once she was settled, he tucked her in so that the blanket was keeping her warm and went over to Maurice. "I'm not going to send her there," he said firmly. "I'm not going to have people saying that the queen went crazy. I don't want to use that word for her."

"Maybe you could get a doctor he-" Maurice suggested and Adam looked at him in more pain than he had ever been in as a beast.

"Belle isn't crazy. She just needs to be broken out of this trance they've got her under. My wife is not crazy," Adam said a little too strongly as he could hear a slight echo of his voice. Was this the enchantresses attack on him now. Attacking his own family!?

Adam paced the hallway in front of his room in the west wing. Maybe it would be better to move their bedroom away from where so much had happened. There were too many memories haunting her. It would be easy to relocate to another room and hopefully Belle would feel better there. This room didn't need to be repurposed, the memories were too dark and deep to just wallpaper over them. They could just use one of the other roo-

There was a loud sound of a gun and Adam felt himself pale, his back straightening as he realized where that sound would have come from. He looked to Maurice who was standing there stunned. "Can you keep an eye on Belle for me?" he asked and as soon as Maurice nodded, Adam flew down to Riva's room. He had thought about his own death in that form but he hadn't thought about those feelings coming from Riva.

As Adam entered the room, he saw Riva with the hunting rifle in his paw and blood on his chest? His heart? Adam tried to control and steady himself as he tried to figure out where the bullet went. With one hand he attempted to find the bullet and the other he was checking Riva's breathing. He was unconscious but he was still breathing, he still had a pulse.

Adam looked at his hand as he finally found the bullet within the fur of Riva's upper shoulder. This wound was easy to live through if it was treated in time. Adam looked around for any other sign or any other bullet wound but nothing. He saw Riva's eyes widen and saw the tears in them. He also saw some of the palace guards running to him.

"I'm sorry," Riva told him. Adam shook his head.

"You're going to be okay," Adam said to him. "I'm going to make sure that you're okay. We'll get you help."

"Papa," Riva said and Adam pushed back the fur on his face gently trying to figure out how he wasn't going to lose it to the pain that enchantress had caused to happen. "You're not the first," he said and Adam saw one of the guards pick up a journal of some kind and also a picture. Adam refused to move from Riva's side but the picture looked very much like his mother standing next to….a beast.

Had his own father been a beast? What did this mean about their lineage? What did this mean about him?

**End of Chapter Eight**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven

Bgrangerweasley, gisela19wwe, KathyMesser


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Adam had sat quietly whilst considering his options. As far as he was aware, his daughter and their youngest child, Marie, was still unaware of the situation and of even Riva having turned into a beast but she was still suspicious. Bastien knew a bit more, was able to vocalize what had happened but was feeling unsettled. Then there was Riva who he was with right now. Adam understood those desires of wanting to take his own life. Somehow the guilt that he had caused for the servants to become objects had kept him from those most painful thoughts. Belle, he didn't know how to help Belle but he knew he didn't want her to go to an asylum, she wouldn't be cared for there.

As Adam let his fingers smooth out the fur near Riva's right horn, he looked up at the only mother-type of figure he had ever really known. "What would your thoughts be?" he asked the former-teapot. "I'm sorry. I took so much of your life from you."

"Adam," Mrs. Potts said as she moved over to him, Riva was stretched out on a bench beside the fire and Adam was kneeling by his side with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He knew already that Belle wouldn't be prepared to do this for him. "What happened was not really your fault. I know that it must feel that way but for a young boy, those hard years of adolescence are tough enough, to be isolated and in that form, I don't blame you."

"I denied your child," Adam commented as he thought about Chip. Fortunately the young boy had had his aging slowed down, he hadn't spent his whole life as a teacup but that meant that he had aged in ten years what other young boys might in two. It was still some important time that was lost. "I was selfish and stubborn and - " Adam bowed his head regretfully, "I'm sorry."

"We all know just how sorry you are," the woman replied as she went over to him and sat down in front of him. "You mustn't blame yourself for all of this happening. If you had gone back to being spoiled and selfish and rude then we would have been disappointed but you are giving and selfless and you genuinely care for others. However, those were traits we should have inspired in you without you becoming cursed. Now for Riva, he is doing this courageously to help the family."

Adam closed his eyes and bowed his head, he formed a fist with one of his hands. "I need your help. I can't do this alone. I can't even do it with just Maurice's help, and that is help that I don't deserve. I need help to keep an eye on my family. If Riva does this again then I don't know if anything will be able to save this family."

"Riva will be fine," Mrs. Potts assured him and Adam glanced at his son again.

"You were employed by the royal family after my birth, correct?" Adam asked and the woman nodded to him. Adam stood. "Then you wouldn't know about my father becoming a beast? Having been a beast before I was born? If it is a sort of…family curse rather than anything to do with a rose. Could you have that checked, please?" he requested and Mrs. Potts smiled to him.

"Of course," she said before concentrating on what he had said. "I'll try to find the information for you." She saw the shadows on Adam's face and she could see how much the scarring of having been the beast like the one Riva was right now had tortured him. His heart and mind had become untangled and softened by Belle and by the commitment of Adam himself to be better and to do better and to repent for his anger and to change. Compared to some of the evil people in this world, even at his worst Adam was not as terrible as them. He could have become much more warped and he could have become a true villain but he hadn't, he had saved Belle from those wolves, he had had the courage to make himself vulnerable, he had made the decision to not kill or hurt others. However, anyone could be pushed to the breaking point and she didn't want to lose this king to his own mind.

"Adam," she whispered and he turned to her. "None of this is your fault. You should not be blamed for any of this. I am happy to see you alive."

Adam nodded to her. He heard Riva's breaths get stronger and picked up his son's paw, squeezing it in his hand. "I'll be right back," he told his son and looked to Mrs. Potts desperately, she nodded and took his place next to Riva. She loved the family like they were her own blood and Adam would always trust that she had his loved one's best interests prioritized.

Walking down the hallway felt quite lonely to the king. He hated the feeling of not being able to help those he loved. He felt more like a young and frightened boy than ruler of this land. As he pushed his back against a wall, he looked into the darkness and sighed, his shoulders dropping. Maybe Belle would have been happier if she had ended up with Gaston after all. As much as it meant that his children wouldn't be here, he wished there was an alternate universe where they were still them but had a different father, a more worthy father.

He heard Belle's screams in his head and frowned, placing a hand to his heart. He hadn't wanted her to scream like that. He hadn't wanted for her to endure that pain. She was his queen, she was more important to him than his own life. He wanted her to be happy but why was he incapable of doing that?

As he closed his eyes and felt the sadness wrap around him, he could hear footsteps and he opened his eyes to see Belle standing there in her nightgown and robe. She didn't have those dark circles around her eyes, her skin wasn't that deathly pale color, she seemed to be acting normally. "Adam, darling, are you all right?" she asked as she approached him and Adam stared at her. This didn't make sense. As much as he wanted for this to be true, it didn't make sense.

He looked at her cautiously, reaching out to grab onto something sharp and fortunately his hand gripped onto a sharp, metal, object.

"Is everything all right?" Belle asked him again and Adam's eyes narrowed as he started to look at her in complete hate. His heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over by how he was seeing his beautiful wife in front of him and as much as he wanted it to be her, he was suspicious that it couldn't be.

"Get out of her body!" he yelled, "Get out of this castle!" his voice echoed enough that at least some people would have woken up. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Have you gone mad?" Belle asked him and Adam tried to focus. He was trying to tell himself that it couldn't be her. There was no way that she could have been healed like this. He felt desperate. "Adam, it's me. Can't you recognize your own wife?"

Adam could hear doors open and as he looked at the woman in front of him he thought of all those happy memories with his gorgeous wife. He remembered how she had married him, how she had broken the curse, the births of their children. This was a body he never wanted to hurt and still. "Get out!" he said before grabbing her wrist and tossing her onto the ground. He walked over to her and placed his foot on her chest. He would have these scars forever. He didn't want to hurt her.

"A-A-Adam," the 'Belle' said as she looked at him terrified, "Don't hur—hurt me. I'll do an-any-thing…ann-yth—thing."

Adam avoided closing his eyes but as he gripped the sharp metal shard, he could see that there was blood covering his foot and he looked at the body below him as he could see worms and bugs appearing over it, coming out of her nose and mouth and eyes and the blood. The blood looked so real, it felt so real. He pulled back and saw that he had indeed been right and the enchantress was looking up at him with a cold and calculated smile.

"I win," she whispered as she saw his horrified and traumatized expression. "This fight between us, this battle, I win," she said as she seemed to reach out for him and began muttering something. Despite the pain his mind had gone through and how tortured he had been by this happening to his family, Adam moved forwards and placed his hand over the enchantresses mouth. Somehow he moved with such force that he had stopped her from speaking.

He saw her hand move as if summoning something and Adam grabbed the metal and shoved it down where her heart was. He felt a sharp and painful shock as he did so. The pain was agonizing, worse than he had ever felt even during his transformation into a beast. He coughed and that seemed to make it so that he was losing consciousness. He could hear screaming and somehow he felt that he had lost. The darkness was filling his lungs, his heart, his mind. What had he done?

BatBBatBBatB

Lumiere's eyes widened as he saw the struggle between what appeared to be Belle and Adam. He couldn't believe that the king was capable of doing that to his wife. This wasn't something that Lumiere had even thought that Adam was capable of doing in beast form. He stood there completely frozen until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back at Fifi, the former candelabra was able to move again and he could see that Belle's body was covered in blood.

"Lumiere," Fifi asked as she let her head rest on his shoulder. "What is happening? It sounds frightening," she commented. Lumiere shook his head, trying to urge her to go back to their quarters and to stay with their own son.

"I will try to figure it out," he said nervously. Could Adam have really lost his mind and killed his wife? No. That couldn't be true.

As he moved forwards, he saw the enchantress appear and his breath got stuck in his chest. What was going to happen? This was a woman who had cursed the castle because she had been sneered at for being ugly, certainly an attempt to kill her would be worse. Somehow Adam wasn't noticing him and neither was the enchantress. As Adam reached out to stab her, Lumiere tried to reach for his wrist to stop him but then he saw it, a white light that was almost blinding.

He took a step back and saw that there were two limp bodies on the floor. The enchantress didn't appear to be breathing and she wasn't moving either but who knew what kind of creature she really was. Lumiere touched her only to find her cold. She wasn't his main worry though. Adam looked as if his body had gone into a deep shock.

Lumiere looked at him as his blue eyes started to lose their color, becoming white for a moment. Blindness? Did this mean Adam had lost his ability to see? Lumiere didn't touch him but he knelt over him, hearing some others coming out of their rooms but he needed them not to move him. Was there a chance he was still alive?

Although he had been able to keep most away, he found Maurice to come near him and Lumiere saw Adam twitching and then heard sounds of pain and agony that he hadn't before and finally Adam seemed to come back, his body was pale and almost deathlike and he pushed himself up before vomiting. It wasn't until he started moving on his own that Lumiere reached for him.

"Adam, are you? How are you? Are you okay?" he asked and Adam looked at him horrified before nodding. He looked at the still not moving body of the enchantress before getting up onto his feet. He felt unsteady and fell down again. Other servants rushed forwards but it was Lumiere who got there first.

"What happened?" "Is that the?" others asked and Adam forced himself up again, pushing his back against the wall. He had killed her? He knew that he had given into his rage and after what had happened who could blame him but he had never thought he would do it.

Adam reached out for the wall and vomited again before his hand started glowing and without realizing it he had formed a glass box around the body of the enchantress. He felt cold inside as he did so. He had only wanted to trap her and he had created matter with his own hand. He choked again and collapsed into a seated position, he put his head down on his arm as he rested it on his knee.

"Is everything okay?" Cogsworth asked as he ran over to Lumiere. "The rest of you back to your quarters," he commanded and got down next to the king. Adam was still having a hard time breathing and the other three men were greatly concerned.

"I…I felt that…" Adam said as he looked at the body and froze. "Her powers," he said before looking at his hand. He put a hand out to an empty vase and concentrated on it, as he continued to look at the object, a flower appeared and started to bloom, a red rose which was an exact match to the one that had haunted him.

"You mean that you think you have taken her powers from her?" Cogsworth asked.

"That might mean the cure for your family," Lumiere said which voiced Adam's hopes.

Maurice's voice was the most concerned, "As good as that would be to hear. It is important to know how you're feeling, Adam," he said to his son-in-law. "Do you feel okay? Are you hurt? Can you stand?"

"You shouldn't worry about me," Adam whispered showing that he was still in pain, "Belle, Belle is your daughter, please keep her in your mind. I'll be okay."

"You're right," Maurice nodded. "Belle is my daughter and I know she's okay right now but Adam, you are my son. I do consider you my son and I _do_ care about your wellbeing. I don't want to leave until you assure me that you are okay."

Adam looked at him nervously, "I'm your son?" he asked and saw how concerned his father-in-law was for his health and safety. "I will be okay, thank you, Maurice," he replied and then felt something he wasn't expecting, the inventor hugged him before looking to the two servants.

"Please take care of my boy," he told hem and Adam smiled weakly. He tried to stand again but collapsed. What had he just done to himself? Had he really stolen her powers?

**End of Chapter Nine**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eight

Bgrangerweasley, gisela19wwe, KathyMesser,


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

It took a while for Adam to be able to stand up without feeling the need to vomit and that had meant that Cogsworth had come back several times with water so that Adam didn't get dehydrated while Lumiere stayed with him to make sure his condition remained stable. Finally he managed to get up and saw the morning sun shining down upon them. The knowledge that he had stolen the enchantress's powers left him conflicted. It meant that he now had the powers that she had had but he didn't want to punish anyone. What he wanted to do was to heal his son and his wife but he didn't know how to do that. As soon as he stood up, he heard the sound of Belle weeping.

"Adam!" Lumiere called after him, "Are you sure that you're okay?"

"I have to be," he said the pain crossing his face. "I have to get to my wife." Adam quickly went to the bedroom in the west wing and saw Belle clutching onto his pillow and sobbing. Her hair was still tangled and she looked gravely ill. Adam flinched as he thought about the blood but he knew he had to try not to think about it and to get to her.

He saw her clutching tight to his pillow and taking up the whole bed. That didn't matter though. He didn't care about that. He knelt down beside her and gently touched her back, rubbing it gently in circles to help her calm, it didn't seem to work.

"Adam," she whispered as she hugged the pillow. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry, Belle," he said in a loving manner. He let his fingers go through her hair. "I am right here, my beloved. I'm right here."

Belle looked up at him and he could see from her expression that this trauma was deep but he wouldn't let _anyone_ take his Belle away and especially not to a mad house. Some people might benefit from those but there was no way he would take the chance with Belle. "You're not real," she whispered and Adam gazed into those hazel eyes.

"I promise you that I'm here," he said as he pushed away her tears with his fingertip. "I will always come when you need me. You came when _I_ needed you most. Do you remember that? When they stormed the castle and I almost died and you proved to me how I could be loved. You remember that right?"

"A-Adam," Belle said before crying again and Adam nodded, he kissed her forehead not sure how she would react if he kissed her lips but not daring to find out. "Adam…I sa-saved him. I di-didn't k-know hi-his name," she wept.

"It was okay. That was my fault," the king said as he held onto his wife's hand and brought it to his lips. "I was never angry that you called me Beast. You didn't know my name. You've been calling me Adam for thirteen years, that makes up for all the time when you didn't know who I was."

"A-Add-am die-died beca-use of me," Belle cried again. Adam blinked. Belle didn't know it was him? She was still convinced that he was some kind of hallucination.

"Belle, my love," he said gently trying to coax her into looking at him. "I'm right here. Even if I wasn't, there is no way that you would be responsible." Adam stretched his arms out. "See, completely real." Belle looked in his direction but it was as if she was looking at something in front of him instead of his actual body.

She wept again, her entire body shaking and Adam wished there was a way of erasing her pain. He gently brushed her hair back but as his thumb touched her forehead, it was as if he could see into her mind. There was a dark cloud within it and it was as if he could make it disappear. However, as he tried, he could see his name start to vanish a little and so he reversed it. He looked down. Was he being selfish by making it so that even if she suffered, Belle continued to remember him? He had to try to find another way.

Belle blinked as she started to remember but clutched harder to his pillow. The enchantress had hurt her and the thought of him was hurting her as well. He wrapped his arms around her but could feel that she was already feeling skinny and he was terrified what might happen were she to lose weight. He was being so selfish by keeping her locked away in this castle within her own sadness. He didn't want to be the type of person who would cause her to feel trapped. Even though she meant everything to him, he couldn't let her suffer in sadness.

"Belle, my love," he told her before lifting her head, he kissed her but she flinched and grabbed to his shirt. "Please forgive me," he said to her before letting his thumb rest against her head gently and this time he managed to erase his own name, fortunately the names of their children remained. He felt himself sob but Belle wasn't crying anymore. She seemed to be lying there peacefully. Adam quickly retreated from the room so he wouldn't scare her.

"Mauri-ce," he choked as he looked at Lumiere, "I need to see him."

"Adam?" both Lumiere and Cogsworth asked, scared of seeing the sudden depression. He looked back at the room once again and placed a hand on his heart. At least her mind was free. At least she didn't have to get additional mental health checkups.

"I need to see him," Adam whispered as he felt the gloom settle around him despite him remaining human. "He needs to take Belle away from here. I will pay for any financial support either of them need."

"What are you talking about?" Lumiere asked as he saw Adam's fear and pain. He was scared of him falling over and collapsing again. What happened next was even worse, Adam's body started to transform to his beast form. Had he done something for Riva? Adam knew the truth. He had only had his curse broken because he had learned to love and be loved in return. Belle no longer loved him. How could she love someone she had no memories of?

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Maurice stared at Adam as he looked at the larger beast. He didn't think the sacrifice he had made was fair to either of them but this proved how much the king adored Belle. "You should have let her keep her memories," he said and Adam looked at him. Maurice wasn't fearful of him. "Of course I will take Belle back with me and keep her safe. I will make sure that she is cared for but you should return her memories. If she finds out about your history then -"

"I must never see her again," Adam told Maurice. He closed his eyes, thinking of the spell to turn back to human and as he opened his eyes, he saw his human hands but the fur quickly returned and there was a stabbing pain in his chest as he transformed back into the beast.

"Adam, you don't deserve this," Maurice argued, "You don't deserve not to be loved."

Adam looked down as Mrs. Potts stared at him in horror over what he had done. She knew that what he had done was out of love and he could probably train himself to appear as human when needed but love was important. It was sad that it had to be a romantic love because his children loved him, she loved him, there were others who loved him.

"Please just take care of her. Please don't mention me. Tell the children not to mention me," he whispered painfully before hearing a knock on the door and immediately he hid himself. Mrs. Potts reached out to stop him but Belle entered.

"Papa!" she said as she ran to him, Maurice gave her a weak smile. "I thought I heard your voice. I don't know where we are. Are the children okay? Is…Riva okay with his…condition?" she asked and Adam closed his eyes feeling the pain as she didn't mention him.

"We are in the king's castle," Maurice said and Belle looked at him surprised. Why would they be there? "It's not the palace though. You collapsed and he was kind enough to let us stay including the children," he replied hating that he had to do this to Adam but this was what he had wanted.

"Where is the king? I'd like to give him my thank you," Belle said and Mrs. Potts looked at her sadly.

"He left this morning, my dear. I am sure that he's honored to host your family." She said as she quickly glanced in the direction where Adam was hidden. She wanted to hug him. He had been alone for ten years without imagining anyone could ever love him and now the woman who had adored him for thirteen years had no memory of him. That kind of pain must be torture for him. Yet, Belle seemed much better and much more like her usual self.

"I will get the children ready to leave if you wish," Maurice said and Belle nodded.

"If the king isn't here, I'd appreciate that," she told him. Maurice stood and Mrs. Potts offered Belle something for breakfast, after assuring her that it wasn't trouble at all, Belle accepted. They left the room and Mrs. Potts looked to where Adam had hidden himself. He had done what he thought was best for Belle but he didn't realize that _he_ was what was best for Belle.

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Maurice saw Riva still in his beast form. He was half surprised that he hadn't changed back to being human since Adam had turned into the beast he had first met but there had been two different curses. How they stayed with the sorceress defeated, he didn't know. He carefully placed a hand on Riva's shoulder that wasn't hurt from the bullet.

"Riva," he said and his eldest grandchild looked at him.

"Grandpapa?" he asked with a yawn. "What is it? You look worried. Is it because of me?"

"You are to come to my home," Maurice said and Riva stared at him. He had believed that the castle would be safest for him. He was terrified of being seen in public and what public reaction would be to him. Leaving the castle and leaving his family, it didn't make sense. Did his parents hate him that much after what he had done? "Your mother is better and she and your brother and sister will all be coming to -"

"What about Papa?" Riva asked nervously. Did his parents have a fight? Did something happen between them?

Maurice looked at him sadly, "In order to restore your mother's sanity, your father erased himself from her memory. She doesn't remember who he is." Riva looked at him in shock. Why had his father done this? What good could possibly come to him from their separation? "It was his wis-"

"Where is Papa?" Riva asked and Maurice told him of the last place he had seen Adam. Riva walked quickly down the halls, almost running. He was surprised that his father was in beast form. "Papa," he whispered as he ran over to him and Adam pulled the younger beast into his arms. "Papa. I don't want to leave you," Riva sobbed. "You don't deserve to be alone."

Adam breathed steadily and looked to his son. "Riva, I love you but I need you to take care of your mother for me. Make sure that you don't mention me and do your best so that Marie and Bastien don't mention me as well. Riva shook his head stubbornly, a trait he had gotten from both of his parents.

"No. You don't need to be alone. You're our Papa. You've always proven to us that you love us…and we love you…" he said and Adam pulled him close to him. "I can't come back here if I leave. Not safely. Not like this."

"Then please always remember how much I love you," Adam tried to reassure him and Riva sobbed into his father's furry chest. He didn't want to leave him but what choice did he have. He was only a child. His parents made his decisions for him.

"I will, Papa," Riva sobbed as his body shook. "I'll remember. Please remember that we love you. Even Mama loves you despite not remembering you."

Adam chose not to argue with his son on that but the truth was that if Belle had continued to love him, he wouldn't have transformed back into this form. All he could do was hold his son close knowing it might be years until he had the chance to again. Adam went over to where he had kept a very valuable item and handed it to Riva, it was the magic mirror. "So you will always be able to look back and remember me," he said to his son as Riva's body shook.

"Papa, you've always been my hero," Riva sobbed. He didn't want to think that this might be the very last conversation he had with his father and yet he didn't want to be angry because his father had done this to save his mother. He just wished he had at least tried another way.

**End of Chapter Ten**

Thank you for reading

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nine

Gisela19wwe


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note: **I just had a rush of inspiration for this fic which is why there have been three updates in less than twenty four hours but I'll focus on another fic for a little bit and give people a chance to catch up. I'm also going to have some more focus on Riva and Adam's father in the next chapters. Thank you for choosing to read this fic

**Chapter Eleven**

As Belle saw the coach outside of the castle and she saw her father she froze. She looked around. Something in her head was hurting her. She had had headaches before. She had felt bad from the stench of rotting fish in the village. This was different though. It was as if there was something missing in her mind. She looked to the castle again.

"Belle?" Maurice asked as he saw her confused and pained face. "Are you okay?"

"Something is telling me not to leave this place," Belle told him before she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. It was as if there was an emotion there that she was lacking. She closed her eyes and she started to see blue eyes that held such fear and anxiety in them. She started to see a face, the blue eyes underneath well defined eyebrows and then the beautiful complexion and the hair that lay serenely on the man's shoulders.

She felt herself feel sick but she could hear his voice, she could start to see blurry images as memories appeared to piece together and she looked at her father. "I've forgotten something," she told him, "someone." She could see Riva have hope in his eyes. Belle fell forwards as she saw more images, her wedding day, an excited and gorgeous man holding a newborn Riva, being told by this man that she was loved.

Feeling a chill through her, Belle covered her mouth and looked forwards with tears in her eyes. "Adam," she whispered as she placed her hand on her chest. How had she been unable to remember the man she loved? She had helped him remember how to read. She had always helped him with his curiosity. He would always listen to her. He helped her. He loved her. He had given her that gift of her own library since he knew she liked books. He wasn't the type of person who would judge her for reading a book without pictures. Tears filled her eyes as she looked back at the castle.

"I can't leave, Papa," she said as she tried to hold back tears. "I can't leave this castle and I most definitely can't leave _him_." She looked in the direction of the balcony on which the transformation had happened after she had confessed her love for him. "What happened?" she asked nervously. "How was he stolen from me?"

"Who are you referr-" Maurice said apprehensively and Belle cut him off.

"Adam, of course. My husband." Belle placed a hand to her forehead. She felt sick but she finally felt complete. "I can't let him be alone again, Papa. I love him. What happened to me? Who made me forget him?"

"He was concerned for you," Maurice said and Belle looked at him heartbroken. "You weren't the same strong and independent woman you were before. He wanted to make you better. Somehow he's gained the powers of an enchanter, a sorcerer."

"He made me forget about him?" Belle asked in horror, she shook her head not wanting to believe it. "Papa, Adam loves me. I know that he loves me."

"That is the reason he thought it better to let you go," Maurice said and without another word, Belle had run back into the castle. What had he been thinking? She didn't want to leave him EVER.

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_Belle stared at Adam as he paced the hallway. She had been with him for a full year and tomorrow would be something special for him and yet his face proved it was more like a tragedy to him. She got up from her bed, tucked a scrap of paper into her book and walked over to her beloved. "Adam, what is it?" she asked as she gently placed a hand on his cheek. "Come to bed, okay? I'm sure with a little rest you'll feel be -"_

"_I'm nervous," Adam flinched as she touched her. "It was eleven years ago. I was different then, I was cold and insensitive and I hope I'm not that way any longer but what if it happens again, what if she comes back?" he asked and Belle placed her hand on his cheek before wrapping her arms around him._

"_She won't come back," she tried to assure her husband. "All that will happen tomorrow is that you will legally be one year older than you were last year. It's a formality." She tried to reassure him. On his eleventh birthday he was cursed to be a beast, on his twenty first birthday he almost died when a mob attacked his castle. Hopefully he would just have an enjoyable twenty second birthday but Belle understood. Birthdays for the past ten years meant that it was one less year until the curse could be broken. She gently played with his hair that rested on his shoulders. "I know that you're scared."_

"_I'm not. I'm not scared," Adam said as he started pacing again but Belle reached out and grabbed his wrist. He stopped. "Maybe I'm a little scared," he admitted._

"_Well, hopefully I can stop that," Belle said as she looked at him lovingly. "Hopefully I can show you how loved you are and spoil you the way you spoiled me."_

"_If we're together, that will always be enough for me," Adam said as he pulled Belle into his arms and she laughed as she let her cheek press against his chest. She had to admit that when she lived in the village, she had been lonely but she wasn't lonely any longer. He wasn't a brutish boor like Gaston despite still having kept some of that physical strength and skill from his days as a beast. _

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Adam bowed his head and looked to his paw as he stood in his room in the west wing. Once again he was alone. Once again, he would have to survive without the love he had wanted and love he had treasured. At least he had kept her safe. At least she had a chance to be happy again. Adam closed his eyes, concentrating on his paw. He managed to turn it into a hand and for six seconds it stayed that way until becoming a paw again. He'd have to work on this magic. He would have to learn how to control it because it just wouldn't stick and it kept rebounding or fading.

He looked to a portrait of him and Belle that a famous painter had done and walked over to it. As he placed his paw on it though, it started to become a human hand without his doing anything. He felt the rest of his body changing as well. Was this because he _wasn't_ thinking and didn't have to try so hard.

"Belle," he said as he let his head rest against the picture, "My love, please be happy," he seemed to beg. It was at this time that he heard heavy footsteps rushing towards the room and he looked up to see the door thrown back. He blinked as he saw his wife standing there and didn't understand the expression on her face. Was she upset? Had something upset her? "Belle?" he asked before she walked forwards to him and slapped him across the face. Her body was shaking and Adam quickly placed a hand against his burning cheek before feeling Belle kiss his lips passionately and she threw her arms around him, pushing her face into his chest and crying.

"Adam, how could you?" she sobbed and he looked to her. She remembered him? She held onto him tightly as she cried painfully and he pulled her close. How did she remember him? Had that magic faded too? Was she going to lose it again and sink into that depression? He didn't know how to respond but he saw her pull back and look at him with slight irritation but mostly it was sadness and grief.

"Adam," she choked again and the king watched his queen. She remembered him? Was that why he was in human form? She remembered her love for him? "Never do that again," she said painfully. "Never think that I want to forget you. You are my happiness. You are the one I love. You are my future." She wrapped her arms around him again. "Don't make me leave you," she said and he pushed back her hair, she took his hand and brought it to her heart. "You are so important to me."

"Belle, you were suffering," he tried to explain but the brunette shook her head.

"My suffering would be worse with you not in my life," she argued. "I felt pain because I thought I had lost you. I need you, Adam. I would have needed you even if I couldn't remember you. I love you," she told him and he smiled weakly. Belle took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm down. She took a few steps back but held his hand onto her heart. "No matter what, I love you," she repeated. "Whether you're a human or a beast, whether you a sorcerer or not, I love you." Belle bowed her head and started shaking, tears appearing in her eyes. "If I even think that I could have lost you."

"I would have always remained faithful to you," Adam replied and Belle looked at him. She knew he had done that out of love but couldn't he see that what she wanted was for him to be her husband and their children's father. She placed the hand that wasn't holding his to his cheek and kissed him again. He was the person who understood her the most. He was the person who loved her the most. He was the person deserving of her love the most.

"Promise me that you will _ne-ever_ do it again," Belle ordered as she felt her voice break in her throat. Adam nodded in response. "I need you to sa-"

"I will never do it to you again," he said and Belle embraced him again. As angry as she was about what he had done, she loved him and that love was far more powerful than anything else. As she stepped back, she gently placed her hand over where the mark on his cheek was and her eyes lit up as she brushed her thumb against his skin. She laughed a little, "Adam, you're starting to grow a beard," she told him and he blinked, he put his own hand to his cheek.

"Yes," he nodded having not thought about it before.

"I like it," Belle whispered. "I like you having that extra fur on your face," she said and Adam smiled, his eyes showing his hopefulness and his relief that his love was there. "Please don't shave it off. It's you. It's halfway between the two versions of you. I love you no matter what."

"How could you love the beast?" Adam asked as he looked aside but Belle guided his chin towards her so that he was making direct eye contact with her.

"I love my husband in all of his forms," she replied. "My husband who I want to protect and cherish. Even if you had never transformed, I told you that I loved you before I knew your human side but I knew of your humanity, I knew that there was a scared and traumatized man behind that fur, I knew that you loved me and I knew you were changing. I came back to you, right?"

Adam nodded, "You did."

"And I will _always_ keep coming back," Belle assured him. She kissed him again but this time more quickly. She led him to the bed and lay down, he watched her nervously but she pulled him into the bed and he lay down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she turned, snuggling into him as close as possible. "Adam," she breathed before starting to fall asleep. Adam watched her. She had come back to him again. It was a good thing he didn't have complete control over his magic. If he had then Belle would have lost her memories of him and he wouldn't be holding her like this, they wouldn't be together. That would have been the worst mistake of his life.

**End of Chapter Eleven**

Thank you for reading


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Okay, so I couldn't keep away from this fic. I've been feeling depressed recently but writing it has given me some excitement and enjoyment and I appreciate that.

**Chapter Twelve**

Even though she had her husband at her side, Belle still felt the pain from the torture which had been inflicted upon her. She had started to get anxious at leaving the room and so – apart from some time which he had spent with Riva and some with Bastien and Marie – Adam had stayed with her and attempted to comfort her. She appreciated that of him. She turned in her sleep feeling that she was having a terrible nightmare. She could see Adam staring at her and then she saw his body get covered in blood and as she reached out, she saw that his bones were showing. She screamed out in panic and found herself in a pair of loving arms.

She shook nervously as tears filled her eyes, her body felt cold from fear but the arms around her were protective and warm. She tried to catch her breath and felt the person holding her press their forehead against her own.

"I'm here," Adam attempted to reassure her. "I'm right here. I'm going to stay right here," he said and she nodded, still shivering. She closed her eyes and kept her head bowed but when she finally did look at him she gazed into those protective blue eyes. He was holding her close. He was protecting her from all of the bad stuff.

Belle reached out to place her hand on his cheek and then kissed him which he of course returned. "You're here," she said and he nodded wishing there was something more he could do for her. He was having his own nightmares of how he had attacked the Belle who hadn't been the real Belle. She started to breathe quickly and Adam made sure he was holding her protectively. He managed to sit up, letting her rest on his chest as he rubbed her back. After just holding her, Belle started to get more exhausted and she settled down in the bed, letting her head rest on his lap.

Adam pulled the blankets around her as he watched her sadly. He placed a hand on her back and pressed several soft kisses to the top of her head. "Shall I compare thee to a Summers day?" he asked, quoting the Shakespearian poem he had recently read, "Thou art more louely and more temperate. Rough windes do fhake the darling buds of Maie;" he continued to recite the poem until Belle had calmed.

"Shakespeare," she smiled as she breathed steadily and Adam watched her, he internally marveled at how gorgeous she had always been. "You love Shakespeare."

"You were the one who taught me the joy of reading," he said as he kissed her again. "Romeo and Juliet. Hearing you read that was….it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in my life. It proved to me how much I had fallen for you, how much I wanted to impress you despite how I looked. I could recite another poem if you -"

"Just be with me and tell me you love me," Belle requested and Adam shifted so he was in the bed with her with his arms embracing her. He smiled to her, happy that he had done something to at least give her a little more life in her expression.

"I love you," he said softly. "I love your eyes. I love your lips. I love your smile. I love your cheeks. I love your nose. I love your laugh. I love your voice." He began. Adam must have said about seventy different things he loved about Belle before he realized that she was asleep in his arms again. He smiled before continuing. He could never run out of reasons to why he loved his wife. He just knew that she was the only one for him.

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As Belle got some sleep the next morning and she seemed so peaceful, Adam knew what his next duty was and after Riva had tried to end his own life, he felt that he could have done something sooner. He walked down the hallway to Riva's bedroom and knocked on the door. He slowly opened it to see his son in the beastly condition surrounded by countless books.

Adam gently knocked on the door and Riva looked towards him with a weak smile. "Can I come in?" he asked and as Riva nodded, Adam came in. He looked at the different books thrown haphazardly around the room. He sighed before pulling a chair out and sitting opposite his son. "How are you feeling?" he asked greatly concerned. He felt a stabbing in his pain as he saw that Riva still remained in that condition despite the sorceress being gone.

"Am I allowed to feel angry? Frustrated? Furious?" Riva asked as he bowed his head and Adam placed a hand on his upper arm. He looked at him with those same protective feelings as he had towards Belle. "You don't want a monst-"

"Keep your mind on who you are talking to," Adam attempted to reassure him. "I know how it feels to be in this position and I'm sorry. You've had to deal with things that I would never wish on my worst enemy. You are loved, Riva. Your mother and I love you and we don't want you to be away from us. I hope you don't think that I was ash-"

"I know," Riva nodded quickly, "You wanted to protect Mama."

"And your mother always wanted to protect you," Adam tried to reassure his son. "Riva, you know that the enchantress is dead, don't you? I don't know if she was ever human or ever alive in the same way that we are. I don't know that much about what she was or who she was but….she's gone. She can't hurt you anymore."

Riva sighed and looked at his paw, turning it over. "Then why am I still caught by her curse?" he asked and Adam sighed and looked away. He closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"I don't know. I do however know that I have taken her magic from her. I don't know how to make it stick though. I have found the beginning to many spells but none that last, that is why your mother remembered me. If I had more control over these powers then -"

"Don't you dare do that to her again," Riva said and Adam sighed and nodded. He knew it was very painful to try to help her in that way and he should have thought of an alternative. "Papa, nobody wants to lose you."

"And nobody wants to lose you either," Adam said before going to sit next to his son on the bed. "I promise to you that you are my priority. I don't know how long it will take but I will spend as long as it's needed to cure you." Adam promised.

Riva looked at him nervously, "Could you try?" he asked and Adam opened his mouth to explain that he didn't have the control to make any of his magic stick, Riva cut him off. "Just…try?" he begged and Adam nodded. He whispered something under his breath and for a moment, he could feel his own exhaustion but also see his son in human form. Riva looked at his hands but soon they became paws again. He bowed his head sadly but could see how much pain Adam went through even to do that much for him.

"I don't know what to do. Marie is terrified of me," Riva commented and Adam pulled Riva into his arms. Riva held onto his father's arm with one of his paws. "And Bastien…he's treating me as if this is some kind of costume I'm wearing, as if this is normal, as if my biological needs haven't changed."

"For the most part, they haven't," Adam admitted to him with a weak smile. Riva stared at him completely stunned. "If anyone should know it would be me. Yes, taking care of fur, a tail, horns, those parts are new but the inside hasn't changed too badly. Your stomach might be a little bigger, the amount that I wanted to eat when I had transformed," Adam said trying to be a little more light hearted but he could only see Riva's weak smile.

"Father," Riva finally admitted, "I'm scared. I'm terrified of what might happen if someone outside of the castle spots me in this form. Would they kill me? Would you be able to stop them?" he said and Adam closed his eyes as he remembered his own fear. He couldn't even go anywhere for help. Nobody would have protected him at that time and nobody would have seen the real him.

"You are my son," Adam said, "and I am king and I will give my life to protect you. Please be patient with me and I'll help you. We'll figure out something that you can master, some skill or task, or something. Hopefully this will be only a short time more."

"Wood carving?" Riva asked and Adam looked to him surprised but nodded. That seemed like a skill that Riva could achieve in this form. "I feel that even like this I can't go into a full rage," he said sadly. "I think of you and Mama and I just feel that you would…you still love me. I can't imagine going through this without you and Mama caring for me. I don't know what you must have."

"It is a father's honor to worry about their son," Adam said as he stood not wanting to think of the disgust which his own father had shown him, the abandonment and casting out of the beast. He really had felt like a monster with nobody to turn to. He was happy that Riva knew there were people who loved him dearly. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Grandfather," Riva said as he looked to the window. "There's a book in the library next to the sixth window on the second lowest shelf," he said and Adam looked to him confused. "Grandfather knew the enchantress…I think…" he said and Adam blinked confused. He had only glanced at a fraction of those books and he had never seen anything with his father's name on it. If so he would have grabbed it and read it to fill those endless hours of solitude...well if he had remembered how to read

"You said before that being turned into a beast had happened to my father," Adam said as he looked at Riva, "That it had happened to my father, then to me, and now to you. It was the same enchantress, wasn't it?" he asked and Riva closed his eyes.

"I think so," Riva took a slow breath. "Papa, can I ask you something? Please don't be upset with me for asking. I don't judge you."

"Okay," Adam said nervously. He thought about his own family. Until Belle, he hadn't really had a family that loved him. Was that what Riva was going to ask him about? He knew that Riva must have a lot of questions about the time that he spent as a beast but hopefully Riva felt more accepted than he ever had before Belle came into his life.

"Do you regret killing her?" Riva asked and Adam looked down.

"No," he answered honestly. He looked to his son afraid that Riva saw him as a murderer. That hadn't been his intention in hurting her, he had just wanted to weaken her and stop her from doing more damage to their family. "I don't regret it, Riva."

"Are you happy that you killed her?" Riva asked and Adam looked at him and bowed his head again.

"No," he replied. He shuddered as he thought about all the anger he had had in that moment and how it had manifested into that murder. He didn't want to be a killer, a murderer. He didn't want to take the life of another and he definitely didn't get any pleasure out of it. Still, now that his family was safe, could he be glad that he had protected them from danger.

"How?" Riva asked and Adam looked to him sadly.

"My family is safe for now. My son has a chance to be out of danger of his curse getting worse. My wife is recovering from her mental anguish. I don't have to worry about her coming into my life again. I don't regret that that has now become the case. I hold no enjoyment in taking her life though. I wish that there had been another way. I don't want to regress into who I was before you were born. I choose not to be a monster," he said and then sighed. "I just hope that you don't see me as one."

**End of Chapter Twelve**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eleven

Bgrangerweasley, KathyMesser


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

_As the battles continued to be fought, the king looked over at the beautiful woman who had offered him a chance to end this all. He knew that the risks of making this deal were strong and that this could backfire on him easily. He had to prepare himself for the unknown which was next to come but he could have a little more assurance that he was doing the right thing. "So, if I allow you to be my queen then you will stop this foolish war? I will be the winner?"_

"_Well," the woman, an enchantress, said as she looked out upon the battlefield. "You are to die anyway. You do not have the strength to protect your kingdom. However, if you take me as your queen then our power will be consolidated." _

_The king looked at her, what did she mean that he didn't have the strength? "My army is highly trained," he said stubbornly. "We have the best weapons."_

"_Take your chances if you do not believe me," the enchantress told him. "However, make note that I have offered you a chance to have freedom and to avoid the casualties of war and the loss of your kingdom. If you don't take this offer then your kingdom will fall," she said and the king looked at her._

"_You want the power for yourself? The kingdom for yourself?" he asked despite there being another that he cared for, well not in a romantic way but for his own benefits, a princess who could only spread the area of land he controlled. "Fine," he said and the enchantress waved her hands, stopping time and starting to end the -_

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Adam felt a hand on his back as he lifted his head sleepily. Despite the fact that the book in front of him showed to be little more than war records and some journalistic notes, he could imagine the whole event before him. He had learned enough to know that there had been an agreement, a transaction between the enchantress and his grandfather and that his grandfather had broken the deal. The curse had probably affected his grandfather, then his father – who abandoned him quickly as if disgusting to touch – and then him and now Riva. The only difference that it seemed between him and his father and grandfather was that he had learned how to love. That meant that there had to be some other deal struck between the ones who had been cursed before him and himself.

Adam blinked again feeling a headache. He was exhausted and no wonder he had passed out on the table. He looked aside and saw Belle's concerned hazel eyes. "Hey," he breathed out. "I didn't ask to use thi-"

"You don't have to ask to use the library," Belle said as she pulled a chair beside him. She gently let her fingers go through his hair remarking on how gorgeous he was. "Are you okay? You've been missing for most of the day."

Adam blinked at her before smiling. He let one arm slide under his head and held Belle's with another. He was glad that he wasn't like his father or grandfather and that he had learned to love and to sacrifice. He could be a peasant and still remain happy as long as he knew that his loved ones were safe. He hummed as he held onto her hand before coughing painfully. When had his chest started to hurt? When had he started to get a headache?

He felt Belle's delicate hand on his forehead and heard a gasp. "You're really burning up," she told him and Adam blinked at her through blurry eyes. It was obvious that he was exhausted but it wasn't as if the recent events had given him much time to rest. He coughed feeling the pain in his chest and shuddered as there was a cold chill through his body. Belle's eyes widened as she thought about her mother and how she had been taken by illness.

"You need to rest, can you stand?" she asked and Adam looked forwards again.

"Belle, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I've always been resilient," he tried to argue. He saw her concern and sighed. As he pushed himself to his feet, his vision blurred and he covered his mouth so he wouldn't vomit. Something in his body felt wrong. Belle watched him nervously and Adam could see the concern on her face for a moment but he fell forwards. Fortunately she was able to catch him in her arms but his breathing had slowed and his temperature was rising.

She shivered as she thought about her mother. He wouldn't leave her, would he? There had to be a spell or something that could help him. She managed to get the strength to put one of his limp arms around her and she brought him to the sofa. She gently helped guide him so he was lying down. He coughed once again and Belle felt tears in her eyes. This time she could see some blood on his lips and her heartbeat was louder. Her mother had died from illness. She couldn't lose Adam to illness as well.

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Belle felt her heart break as she sat outside one of the many guest rooms. He had been taken there in case there was need for isolation. The plague could kill anyone quickly and spread easily but this worried her more. She knew he would be angry at her for going in there but he was alone. She couldn't lose him. She bowed her head before seeing a doctor exit. "How is he?" she asked and the doctor smiled.

"He's doing a lot better, as if the illness wasn't there at all," the doctor said and Belle felt hope in her chest before she remembered what Adam had said about not being able to have his spells last a long time and they would fail so there was the chance that if he had healed himself that way that the sickness would return.

Belle nodded as she tried to dry her eyes. Adam would feel worse if she were crying and especially if he came to the conclusion that he had caused it to happen. "I'd like to see him, is that possible?" she asked. Although she had been given the magic mirror back from Riva, being there in person with him was different than just seeing him from afar. He didn't need to feel selfish if he took some time to take care of himself first.

The doctor nodded but handed her a mask just in case, Belle put it on and moved into the room. She saw Adam with a damp rag over his head to lower his fever. "Hello, my love," Belle said as she approached him and Adam gave a weak smile. He began to sat up and Belle rushed to help him. "Are you feeling better?" he nodded in response and Belle smiled. She sat down next to him.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" she asked and Adam laughed weakly.

"If I can provide it," he said and Belle wrapped her arms around him. He was still so strong and she hoped that his health problems were just from his exhaustion. He had been through so much recently. He needed some time to rest and to sleep. "What is it?" he asked and Belle pushed his hair back before taking off the mask and kissing his cheek. He looked much healthier as the doctor had said.

"Prioritize yourself right now," she requested and Adam stared at her before bowing his head.

"The prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind," Adam told her as he looked away. Belle knew that he would need a bit more convincing that taking care of his own health first was most important. "There was no love in his heart and as punishment she transformed him into a hideous beast."

Belle sighed and let her forehead rest on his shoulder. She hated that she felt weak when he was the one who needed the care and love directed to him. Ten years was a very long time to remain in that condition and she understood the trauma that accompanied it but she needed him to know that he wasn't spoiled, selfish, and definitely not unkind and his heart was filled with the love not only for her and the children but for all those living in the castle. She felt her eyes get damp and he pulled her into his arms.

"Belle," he whispered her name and she pulled back, feeling selfish for having to dry her own eyes.

"Adam, if you get sick and we lose you then things will only get worse. You need to try to remain healthy. I know that you want to help me and Riva and everyone but we need for you to care for yourself with just the same passion. I love you. Riva will not find you selfish if you work on recovering for yourself and I will argue with anyone who dares to use those words to describe you. People change. You changed. I've changed."

Adam looked to her and then to the door where Riva stood, his tail hanging low and his eyes showing a lot of fear. "Papa, she's right," he said and Adam bowed his head feeling worthless as a father and very selfish. "Concentrate your powers on yourself, please?" he asked and Adam turned to him with regret in his eyes. "I found this," he said as he walked over with what looked like a handwritten book of magic. "I don't know if it will work but maybe it will help you hone your powers enough so that we can all benefit from your magic, especially you."

Adam took the book from Riva, "Thank you," he whispered and Riva smiled.

"Papa, I'll leave you to sleep," Riva said as he turned and started to leave the room. "I am very glad that you're alive." Riva smiled as he watched his Mama pay more attention to his Papa. Being a family was more important than breaking his curse right now. He had to remember that.

As Riva walked away from the guest room and down the hall, his spine straightened and he pushed himself against the wall as he heard the loud screams of Marie. He tried to reach out for her but before he could say anything, she ran away with tears in her eyes.

"Marie!?" Bastien asked running after her and saw Riva's pain and regret. Bastien ran to his older brother hating to see that guilt and shame on his face. "It's okay," Bastien told him as he knew Riva was trying to hold himself together. "I still love you, big brother." He ran after Marie as Riva looked in their direction. He didn't want to tell his father about this. Maybe he should just seclude himself to his own bedroom. He didn't want to be the monster his little sister thought he was and he couldn't burden his father right now. Yes. Isolation might be best.

**End of Chapter Thirteen**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Twelve

KathyMesser


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

It had been forty-seven hours since Adam had become ill, or at least since Belle had seen him collapse and his magic seemed to be keeping the illness from taking over but it also made him extremely weak. Although he wasn't going to die, the weakness bothered Belle greatly. She held onto his hand as he slept and pushed his hair back feeling the sweat on her forehead. She saw her old friend, Mrs. Potts, enter and stood. She had things which she needed to do including making sure to take care of herself.

"I want to see the children," Belle said quietly in an attempt to not wake Adam up. "Do you mind sitting with him for perhaps an hour or so?" she asked.

"Of course not," Mrs. Potts said as she walked over to Adam. She smiled as she saw him but her eyes told of her concern. She had seen this boy develop from a spoiled and entitled child into a true king, a proper ruler of this land. She cared for him and his family as if they were her own. She looked over to Belle who smiled with gratitude.

Less than an hour after she had left, Adam blinked his eyes open. It was blurry to him. His breathing was shallower but steady and at least he was alive. He shivered as he felt the cold water being dabbed against his brow. "Belle?" he asked in little more than a whisper. The former-teapot smiled to him and Adam's eyes slowly managed to focus on the room, he looked over to her.

"Hi," he breathed out. "Is Be-"

"Belle's doing okay," Mrs. Potts reassured him. "How are you feeling? I'm not sure if this change is caused by the magic or…" Adam smiled weakly before closing his eyes, he opened his mouth about to ask another question but Mrs. Potts quickly replied before he could answer. "Riva and the others are also doing okay. Don't you worry about them for right now. All you need to worry about is how you can get better."

"I'm still…sick?" Adam asked somewhat delirious. "I'm sorry. I should have been a better kid. I didn't know how to appreciate what I had. I'm sorry."

"Don't go apologizing now," he was slightly scolded and he laughed weakly. "We all had to go through that together and for what I've experienced, you tell me that a couple of dozen times a year and since that's been thirteen years, I've heard it at least three hundred times and I expect plenty more. You seem to be out of the danger zone but if you don't rest then a relapse is always a possibility."

"How are you?" Adam asked as he looked at her. He looked so innocent as he lay there. He had committed his sins as a child but the punishment was cruel and unusual for his 'crime'. At least it had led him to Belle. At least it had significantly changed him and shaped him into this kind and caring man who cared less about justice and more about forgiveness, understanding, and equality.

"You needn't worry about me," she smiled. "As long as you feel stronger, that's what matters to me. Adam you are so loved," she reminded him and he smiled to her. The enchantress hadn't thought that possible of someone in his family. He knew that his parents didn't really love him and that's how his heart had become cold and distant. He was now thinking that they didn't love each other. He was happy that he was capable of doing so and that he had met someone who had fallen in love with who he was inside without the outside scaring them away even if it had begun with imprisonment.

Adam smiled again before turning over and pushing his face into the pillow, as he closed his eyes he started to hear voices and he fell into the blackness. 'You have to sacrifice something to gain the skills' 'What is worth the most in your life?' 'What are you willing to get rid of?'

Adam cringed. He was imagining these words. He was just stressed . These voices were just stress manifesting itself.

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Belle looked into the library to see her father with Marie on his lap and Bastien sitting alert on the floor listening to the book. Her father was one of the few men she had known in the village who could actually read. It was her father who had told her and it was books that had inspired Maurice to become an inventor. It made her even happier that Adam loved reading as well so that they could have it as a moment of family togetherness.

"Belle," Maurice said and Belle sat down beside Bastien, pulling him to her lap and ruffling his hair. "I was just about to get to your favorite part."

"Where she finds out that he really is a prince?" Belle asked and saw Marie reaching for her. She reached out and took the small girl in her lap and kissed the four year old's forehead. She brushed her hair back and saw Marie nervously looking from side to side.

"The monster's not here," she said and Belle hummed and looked down sadly.

"Marie, that isn't a monster, he isn't a monster," Belle said as she tried to soothe her daughter down. She looked at Bastien who glanced at Marie sadly but with frustration. Bastien was old enough to know that Riva wasn't a monster and Riva definitely didn't deserve to be treated like a monster. They all wanted Marie to agree with them on that.

"He looks scary. He sounds scary," Marie sniffled and Belle placed a hand on her back, massaging it slowly.

"That's your big brother," she told her. "I promise you. That's why Riva's not been around. Riva got hurt with a curse like in the book."

"No. It's not big brother. It's not," she argued and Belle sighed. She didn't want to force her daughter and Riva wouldn't have wanted Marie to feel forced to accept him but the two always had gotten along very well together. Riva must be devastated by this. Bastien looked at them.

"Riva's still fun to play with and he's kind and patient and he's still our big brother," Bastien said but Marie crossed her arms and looked away.

"No. No. No. It's not Riva. It's not," she protested.

Belle took a deep breath in, she didn't quite know how to proceed. She didn't want to make Marie feel forced to do something but this had to eventually come to an end. She had to eventually come to love her brother again. Before she could say anything, there was one of the castle guards at the doorway. Belle looked up at him and he smiled weakly before she could hear yelling.

"Adam! Stay calm!" Mrs. Potts said and Belle immediately pushed past the guard to see Adam panting and struggling to stand. She quickly rushed out, closing the door to the library as she did so. "I don't think anyone can understand you."

"Belle!" Adam said in a panic and Belle wrapped her arms around him. He was still sick. He should have just called for her. He shouldn't be out of bed like this.

"My love, keep calm okay," she said as she brushed the sweat off of his face. He was ill. He was supposed to be resting. She didn't know what was so important as to exhaust him this much. Wrapping her arms around him she felt him dig into his pocket. "Adam?" she asked and he handed her a necklace with a small crystal at the end of it with a royal blue light.

She lifted it as she saw that there appeared to be a rose charm above the small crystal. "What is this?" she asked but was careful when Adam started to stumble. She helped him to sit down at a bench and she held the necklace before her. It definitely seemed enchanted.

"I need you….to keep…that safe for me," Adam said, sounding exhausted and Belle nodded. She held it in front of her. It was warm, there was a slight vibration coming from it. She looked over at Adam who was catching his breath. "Adam, what is this?" Belle asked and he looked at her painfully before his eyes went back to the necklace.

"That," he pointed, "is part of my life energy."

Belle's eyes widened as she looked at it. What had he said? She carefully cupped it in her hand wanting to keep it safe. She hadn't just heard him say what she thought she had heard him say, right? "Adam?" she asked. "Don't you…"

"When I've gained mastery over these powers, yes, I will request it back," he told her and Belle looked at it again. She felt the small vibrations were similar to a heartbeat. "I have to learn to control the magic. It was keeping me sick."

Belle nodded slowly before looking at the necklace again. "What happens if something happens to this?" she asked as she saw Adam's panicked expression.

"Then I will not be human any longer, I'll be part of the magic or the creator of the magic but not as I am now," he replied and Belle shivered, she carefully held the ball of energy wondering where she should put it. She looked to him.

"Adam, I can't be held to that kind of a responsibility," she said nervously. She would never do anything to intentionally hurt her husband but he was asking her to carry his life in her hands or around her neck. He was more precious to her than anything. She feared what might happen if she were to drop it or lose it. That would be more painful to her than anything.

"It needs to be near a source of unconditional love," he told her and Belle nodded. She looked at the clasp and made sure that it didn't come off before placing it around her neck. She choked as she felt the ball gravitate towards her own heart and then beat in time with it. She put her hand to the back.

"Adam, if something happens. What can I do to protect it more? To protect _you_ more?" she asked and Adam looked at her sadly. He opened his mouth to reply but didn't know how to do so. He knew a way that he would be more protected but he didn't want to force it upon Belle. His wife grabbed his hand and looked him in the eyes. "Adam, what?"

"I can bind it to your throat," he told her, "it won't hurt you but it will be kept there until I unbind it. That would mean that you wouldn't be able to take it o-"

"That's what I want," Belle told him as she raised her chin so that he could apply whatever magic he needed to. "I don't ever want to lose it until you are ready to take it back."

"It might feel like I'm holding you -"

"I am your wife and love you," Belle interrupted him before Adam could compare her to a prisoner. She felt Adam's thumb on her throat and then a wash like she was going under water before everything went back to normal. She looked down at the pearl, it had sunken in underneath her skin and she put a hand to it.

"Now I hold you safe and protected," she told him with a smile. Adam smiled back. This was what she wanted most, to be able to protect the man she loves and her family.

**End of Chapter Fourteen**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Thirteen

Gisela19wwe, KathyMesser


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: **This is a much shorter chapter than others

**Chapter Fifteen**

Adam looked over to Belle and sighed as he saw the coil around her neck. It felt as if he were holding her prisoner. He saw her watching him and shook his head. He _had_ to get control of these powers as soon as possible. He had to learn more about the enchantress. Was she human? For some reason, he didn't think so and that meant that he had a supernatural creature's blood pulsing through him – or at least their magical ability.

"I'm going to do my best to release you," he told Belle who smiled weakly and reached out to touch his arm.

"Adam, carrying this is no burden to me," she said as she placed a hand on her heart. Adam looked at the small lump near her breast. He had put that into her body and he was scared that he was asking too much of her. He also knew that nobody else could carry that weight. No one else could wear that necklace because it relied on honest love, unconditional love. "It doesn't hurt at all," Belle told him and that made Adam's eyes light up.

"Really?" he asked and Belle smiled.

"Really," she nodded. She wrapped her arms around him in a close hug. "Are you feeling better? You're not still feeling ill, are you?" she asked as she let her head rest on his shoulder. Adam laughed weakly before nodding.

"Yeah," he said and Belle kissed his forehead. "I'm feeling better. How's Riva?" he asked and Belle hummed. She hadn't checked on him and that was probably a huge mistake. Because of the way that Marie hadn't been able to come to terms with her big brother, Riva had tried his best not to scare her or hurt her. He had isolated himself because he thought that it would make him better. Belle didn't believe that was the right choice for him. "I'm a little sleepy but I think things will be better from now on."

Belle closed her eyes as she started to feel a little nervous and she tried her best not to fall victim to a panic attack. "Adam," she whispered and the king turned to her. "I keep seeing it. I keep seeing you dead," she whispered and Adam pulled her into his arms. "You have absolutely no idea how much I love you," she sobbed and Adam attempted to calm her.

"Belle, yes I do," he nodded to her. He gently tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I know because it's the same as how much I love you, how deep my love for _you_ is. I promise to stay as close as possible. I won't take away those memories of me again."

"Good," Belle smiled. "Because those are my favorite memories."

Adam held her again and when he felt ready to stand up, he did so. He looked to Belle but she already knew what he was going to say. He wanted to check on Riva and see how Riva was coping. Adam was a great father. Belle turned to the library. Maybe sitting with Bastien and Marie would give her a better peace of mind.

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Riva sat alone in his bedroom looking at his paws. He didn't want to use the word hate because the word hate often dropped you down into a dark pit of despair where it was very difficult to come out of but he wasn't happy about his situation. Yes, his father said that he would try and cure him but his father was ill and Riva didn't want to ask more from him. He growled before throwing a pillow from the bed towards the window. He wanted to act angrily about this, he had rage he hadn't known before.

Riva closed his eyes but felt tormented by his new form. He heard a knock at his door and felt even lonelier. "It's open, Mother," he called out and was surprised to see his father open the door. He looked to him, Adam wasn't sick any longer. Did that mean he had had the power to make himself better? "Papa?" he asked.

Adam went to him and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't here for you. I…I didn't want for this to happen."

Riva looked to him before closing his eyes again. "Did you feel despair when you were in this form?" he asked, "As if nothing that you did was going right? Did you…"

"Yes," Adam nodded and Riva closed his eyes painfully. "Riva, I was a wreck. Anyone in this castle can tell you about the rage that I went through, how the inside of me matched the outside but you…you are so much better than how I used to be. You're dealing with that magnificently."

Riva turned to his father and then looked away. "I'm still a beast," he told him.

"Maybe on the outside," Adam replied, "but only on the outside. Inside, you're the same Riva. You aren't a beast unlike I was." Riva looked to him before sighing.

"I can't go outside, I can't do all the things that I liked to do," he complained and Adam placed a hand on his shoulder. "Papa, can't you _try_ to do something, if only for a moment?" he asked and Adam looked down sadly. He didn't know how to break the curse that had impacted his son's life so badly. He wanted to but sometimes these things took a lot more than just wanting it to end.

"If it goes wrong it could end up harming you, I don't want that to happen," Adam said as he shook his head and saw Riva fall back onto the bed and fall into a depression. He looked to his son wanting to do something for him and feeling like a failure that he couldn't.

"You can't even try?" Riva asked and Adam bit his top lip. He didn't know how to use his magic successfully. He wanted to do whatever he could for his children but he couldn't risk endangering them. "Even for a moment?" he asked and Adam sat uncomfortably.

Adam looked down wanting to do what he had done for Riva before when he had temporarily changed his appearance to the human Riva. He put his hands on his son's shoulders and closed his eyes trying to truly concentrate. Riva needed some assurance that he was still himself. If he could see how Adam still saw him then he might be slightly happier.

However, before Adam could really focus he heard a growling and his eyes widened to see that Riva's eyes had lost the same color as they had before and Riva was snarling at him. Adam took a step back but Riva lunged at him, pouncing forward as if he were consumed by the beast that he looked like. Adam took a deep breath in, worried about his little boy.

"Riva," he said as he moved to the side and saw Riva still growling at him. Was his son in there any longer? "Riva, Riva" he said but the beast still looked like it was going to attack him. Riva snarled at him and then attempted to bite and attack him, he walked on all fours and Adam felt horrible that he wasn't getting through to his son. Was Riva still in there?

Adam tried to calm the beast before finding him to jump on him, pushing him to the ground and ripping him with his claws. Once Adam started to bleed, yelling out in pain, Riva blinked and pushed himself off, looking at his father absolutely horrified that he had hurt him. "Riva?" Adam asked but Riva had pushed himself to the corner of his room.

"What did I do?" Riva asked as he looked to the paws that had blood on them. Adam placed his hand on his wound and managed to heal it enough so that the blood stopped coming out. He reached out to Riva but the preteen was shaking his head in shock, his mind racing at what he had just done and what he had become even if just for a short moment.

"Riva, it's not your fault. It's mine. I didn't know what I was doing and I did that to you, I am so sorry," he said. Adam reached out to Riva but the boy shook his head.

"I don't want to hurt you again," he whispered as he felt sick as he looked at the wound. Adam shook his head but Riva seemed to close up. He wrapped his arms around himself and dropped down onto the ground, shivering.

"Riva," Adam said in a pleading manner but he knew that Riva was too hurt to hear him. His mind seemed so far away and Adam didn't know how to comfort him. He couldn't touch him with magic right now because he had never expected the magic to turn him into a beast on the inside. Still, Riva had attempted to kill himself before, why would this be any different? Adam couldn't leave him alone to suffer with this.

"I'm staying with you," Adam promised but Riva didn't seem to hear him. "We're going to get through this. Things will go back to normal, you'll see."

"When?" Riva asked and Adam hesitated, he didn't have an answer for that. As much as he wanted to provide an answer for that question there was nothing that he could say.

**End of Chapter Fifteen**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Fourteen

KathyMesser


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Belle slowly passed down the hallway when she noticed that Adam hadn't come to the bedroom. She knew he needed his rest. He had magical abilities which could heal him but he had to learn how to use them. He had to rest so that he could do his best to cure their son. Belle didn't want to speak about how this castle was making her feel intimidated and unsafe. It was best for Riva for them to stay here. It was best for their family to remain here and rest.

"Adam," Belle said as she found him sitting on the ground outside their son's room. Riva's door was half open. Adam seemed to be drifting to sleep just a little but he kept waking himself up. He turned to Belle before putting a finger to his lips. "Adam, dear," she said as she sat down next to him and he pushed his hair back.

"I'm exhausted," he admitted to her with a weak smile. "It doesn't matter though, I've been through this before," he told her before bowing his head. He didn't know how to admit to Belle that he had done something which he couldn't forgive himself for. Yes, he had been tempted to act like the beast he looked like but he had never had the impulse turn to action. What was worse was that Riva was a much kinder, selfless, and level headed person than he had been at that age. Who knew how he was feeling?

"You should come to -" Belle tried to urge him and Adam shook his head.

"I'm worried about him," Adam admitted. "I'm not recovering fast enough. I can't heal him quickly enough. If I don't do it soon then we might not have a Riva anymore."

"What do you mean?" Belle asked as she snuggled into Adam's chest, "We have to stay together as a family."

Adam bowed his head. "When I attempted to lift his curse, I didn't do it right, I turned him into a beast mentally as well as physically," he whispered. "I was able to heal myself after he attacked but it wasn't him…it wasn't our…"

"Like you were when you were angry?" Belle asked him and Adam coughed.

"If he acted like I did at twenty-one then I'm not sure that I would be alive but it was…it was as if I were seeing a younger version of myself fighting those wolves. He was like a wolf himself. I can't risk hurting him like that again. I know he hates this but I just have to wait until I can get it right." Adam frowned and put a hand to his forehead just above his eyes. "If that curse didn't break."

"He'd still be our Riva inside," Belle protested and Adam smiled.

"Of course he'd still be him but he wouldn't have control over the animal instincts. I'd have to…we'd have to….I'd have to…"

"You are not killing our son," Belle whispered harshly and Adam stared at her horrified by the accusation.

"No…I'm not going to kill our son, I never would but he _would_ have to be locked up, if only for his own protection." Adam sighed and let his head rest on the brick of the castle wall. "I just wish I could cure him."

"You'll get there," Belle tried to reassure him, "You'll work out how to do it. I know you'll be able to help our little boy."

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Adam woke up startled to hear Belle panic, he looked up at her from where he had been sleeping on the stone floor beside Riva's room and saw her shaking. He turned to look into his son's room and walked in. His heart was pounding in his chest as his mind came up with a scenario of what could have just happened. Inside the room there was a cold and eerie feeling and Adam felt his breathing get shallow.

"Riva," he called out in an authoritative and yet panicked manner, "Son!"

He didn't want for something to have happened that would have caused Riva to try to end his own life again. Why didn't he remain _in_ the room with him. If he had been in the room then nothing would have happened. Adam hated how he was relying on his human _senses_ to protect his son. He had wanted to not leave his son feeling as if he were completely trapped but maybe he had tried to give his boy _too much_ independence.

Adam's eyes finally caught hold of what appeared to be a scrawled note. Beast hands weren't the best for using quills. His eyes flashed over it and his heart stopped for a moment.

_I'm sorry. I have to leave this castle. There's no room for me any longer_ – Riva

Adam read it over before looking out of the window where there were claw marks on the castle walls. Had he climbed down here? Adam looked out of the window, scanning for any sign of his son underneath but he didn't see anything. He took a slow breath before placing a hand on Belle's shoulder. "Sit, I'll get all the information I can. He _will_ be found."

"If they…" Belle whispered as she covered her mouth and Adam knew what she wanted to say. If Riva was found as a beast then there might have been hunters who wouldn't even listen to him or worse, they would find out that he could speak and then sell him to a circus or if they knew _who_ he was then they would blackmail him. Hell, he would do anything to get his son back no matter what it cost.

Adam rushed by a number of servants and people employed by the castle before stepping outside. He saw beast tracks, paw steps, marked in the mud outside of the castle and leading off in the direction of the gate. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he tried to close his eyes and see if he could sense where Riva was. He had been able to communicate with his son when _he_ had been a beast, surely he could connect with Riva now.

"Adam," Mrs. Potts said as she saw the king standing outside of the castle, he looked uncomposed with his loose hair flying about, his outfit crumpled, and only half of his collar pressed correctly. "Are you….what's going on?"

"Riva has left the castle," Adam told her as he attempted to calm himself down. "He ran away."

"You mean that he…." Mrs. Potts said as she let the fear into her voice as well. "Do you know where?" she asked and Adam shook his head. He ran his hand through his hair again. "Do you -"

"I wish I knew. I didn't even know he had left, he did so so quietly but he's out there looking like an animal that any game hunter would want to capture the head of. Riva doesn't know how to protect himself like that. I barely was able to protect _myself_. I need to get a horse. I need to -"

"You need do nothing of the kind," Cogsworth called out to him and Adam stared at the former clock. His eyes were wide with disbelief and he had never needed to roar more than he did right now. What was the man saying. Not going after his _son!? _This was his SON!

"Unless you know how to magically bring back my son then I don't think you have any other choice but to let me go!" Adam yelled as he tried to control his fear and anger. They were both very justifiable emotions given the situation in which he found himself. He didn't know enough about his own magic to either magically bring his son back safely or know where to find him. "I need a horse, now!" he said as Cogsworth went over to him.

"Adam, you can't think of going in this condition. If something were to -"

"I'll go," Belle said as she ran over to her husband. She held onto Adam's hand. "You're just getting over a sickness. I think that I can try to find our son." Adam stared at her in shock. "I'm stronger than you give me credit for," she said and Adam looked at her before nodding. Nobody would hurt a woman like Belle, no one would hurt their queen and he knew that Riva would never hurt his mother. He nodded.

"Prepare and then make sure you keep safe. I'll listen out for any news you can send me, just please try to find him," Adam said and Belle wrapped her arms around him. She loved her family and the truth was that Adam had so many responsibilities as king that the kingdom might be in danger were he to leave his post.

"I'll find him. I won't come home without him," Belle promised.

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Riva looked up in the direction of the castle, he had left a few hours ago and he knew that soon his father would be attempting to find him. His father was the king, he had to lead the country and then maybe one day, Riva would be able to return to the castle and they wouldn't shoo him away or have forgotten about him.

He moved towards a stream and looked back and forth, when would he be able to get to water again? He grabbed to a bottle he was holding and went to fill it, he had only drunk twice from it but if he could have as much water with him as possible, he would be grateful. He felt himself fall down to the ground and moved forward, lapping up the water as if a cat or a dog.

He heard a voice from the side and got into a squatting position. "Hello?" a girl called out and Riva hid himself, she was so gorgeous. She looked to be about twelve, blonde angelic hair, blue eyes like his mother's, a small and thin body. He moved away and hid. He saw her coming after him and so tried to run again.

"Oh, what type of animal are you?" she asked as she came nearer to him. "Are you a bear?" she asked and Riva tried to hide from her whilst shivering. "Or maybe you're not a bear at all, you're a fairytale prince that was turned into a beast," she laughed to herself. Riva stared at her and she took a couple of steps back.

"How did you know that?" he asked her and the girl blinked at him. "I just wanted some water. I promise. I won't hurt you. I just wanted some -"

"Wait right here," the girl said before running off and Riva felt his body tremble. He wouldn't be waiting around for this. If she were going to tell someone about him then his head would be cut off before the sun set. "My name's Rose," she giggled as she turned around and Riva blinked. "I'm Rose," the girl said and Riva felt his heart pound.

Nobody outside of his family could have such kindness towards him as he were now.

**End of Chapter Sixteen**

**Thank you for reading**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Fifteen

Gisela19wwe, KathyMesser


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